Belle Papier {pretty paper}

Good morning!It’s a gorgeous day here and it’s so wonderful to be able to finally enjoy some great weather. We’ve had a pretty busy weekend with hubby finishing up the roof and the kids having a day off school on Friday. I ended up taking my daughter out for her first drive. That was  a hair-raising fun learning experience and great time together once I pried my clenched fingers from the dash. I only screamed once. Actually after the initial few minutes she was totally on to it and I know she’ll make a great driver once I convince her to keep her left foot on the floor and lighten up the right one.

Another saga to my weekend…we  spent 4 hours in the ER Friday night. My 3yo was burning off some excess energy and fell onto the tile floor. One of his front teeth had to come out. Murphy’s law has is that every emergency WILL happen once the doctor’s and dentist’s offices have closed for the weekend. It was a three and a half hour wait. I had planned to spend the evening cuddled up with my hubby on the couch but NOT the one in the waiting room.I’m just praying that we all won’t get the stomach flu now. Seriously… I don’t rant often but room was packed with that ailment. I can understand if there is a high fever you need to be seen but really…just keep your stomach flu at home otherwise. It should be gone in a 24 hours.

Beautiful U

This card was created just for fun using last week’s CPS sketch, CPS112. It’s a scrappier look card but I did include three stamps on it…two from Ornamental Beauty and the Fine Gingham Backgrounder. I paired them out with some stitching and some Webster’s Pages and MME patterned paper that I wanted to use. I changed the circle elements up a little but mostly stayed true to the sketch.

Quick Tip:  When stitching around in a circle… stop every few stitches with your needle down, raise presser foot and slightly pivot design. Continue stitching and repeat until smooth circle is stitched.

Have a lovely Sunday and enjoy the Spring weather!

Supply List:

Stamps: Fine Gingham Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ornamental Beauty (The Rummage Bin line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink:  Black & light blue Memento Ink by Tsukineko,

Paper: Natural Smooth cardstock by Prism, patterned paper by My Mind’s Eye & Webster’s Pages

Other: ric rak by Creative Impressions, flowers by Prima, buttons by Autumn Leaves, sewing machine, circle punch

the lion sleeps tonight. I tell you…that song kept going through my head when playing with this image. It’s a simple card design, perfect for “Simply Saturday” and also with very detailed images, I like to keep the rest of the card simple to highlight the beauty of the art. I decided to have a little fun with this classic lion pair image from the Saturday Evening Post and give them a fun modern look pairing them with trendy paper. Of course, the lion is the king of beasts and I couldn’t resist adding a fun chipboard crown and the Elvis sentiment, You’re the King for a fun card for my hubby.

The Lion King

Quick Tip: Try classic images with a more modern design approach for a fun look.

Have a simply wonderful day!

Supply List:

Stamps: Lion & Lioness (Saturday Evening Post), You’re the King (Elvis line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Black Memento Ink by Tsukineko
Paper: Kraft cardstock by Prism, 4×4 mini paper pack by Jenni Bowlin
Other: stapler, chipboard crown by Maya Road, Krylon Copper leafing pen

I told you I loved gingham. I’m afraid you’re going to be seeing quite a bit of it here as I’ve been experimenting with different looks and ideas for this stamp. Today I just had to try out orange stamped gingham paired up with some pink accents. Don’t you just love pink and orange combos?! Whether it’s hot pink and bright orange or soft pink and apricot, it’s always fun to play with.

Gingham Joys

Some simple and easy stamping today. I stamped the sentiment onto a journaling stamp and then colored in the flowers with my Copic markers to give it some color pop. Easy-peasey and fun for spring.

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

Supply List:

Stamps: Fine Gingham Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms
Friend Centers (Mona Lisa Moments) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Journal Box (The Rummage Bin line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Rich Cocoa, Black, orange Memento Ink by Tsukineko
Paper: Kraft, Simply Smooth White cardstock
Other: flower by Prima, ribbon by Making Memories, brads by Making Memories

I love white. It’s so clean and fresh and the possibilities are pretty much limitless. Think about it. White cardstock is a staple in your craft supply. Often though, we limit ourselves by only using it to stamp on a sentiment. Today I’m challenging you to find ways to use only white cardstock. You can alter it or go clean and simple. Stamp on it, or not. And extra brownie points if you use some white embellishments. I know you don’t see too many white embellishments in this design but check out the Prima flowers. They were white and I altered them.  Check out the challenge here…

Once in a While

To create my own custom background, I stamped the Double Damask Backgrounder onto white cardstock with Versamark ink and then embossed with clear embossing powder. The embossing powder will resist waterbased product and show the white paper underneath. To create a beautiful shimmery background, I sprayed the layer with two coordinating colors of Glimmer Mist. I love the subtle variations. You can see the exact colors of the Glimmer Mist if you take a look at the altered flowers. I sprayed one flower with one bottle and the second with another. Glimmer Mist can be a little messy but it’s oh soooo pretty! I’ve just put more colors on my list.

To create the sentiment panel, I stamped the main sentiment in Black Memento Ink and a very subtle “sub-title”, Once Upon a Time in Aqua Adirondack ink. Stamping the word over and over fills in the layer and adds interest.

Quick Tip: Glimmer Mist is a dye based shimmer spray. It’s great for spraying on many different kinds of surfaces. Try spraying it on cardstock and embellishments for a custom matching look.

Happy stamping and have fun with the challenge!

Supply List:
Stamps: Double Damask Backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms
Wedding Centers (MLM line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Once Upon a Time stamp from Story Book stamp set (The Rumage Bin line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Black Memento Ink & Versamark by Tsukineko, Aqua Adirondack ink by Ranger
Paper: Simply Smooth White cardstock
Other: buttons by Autumn Leaves, grungeboard and White Distress Crackle Paint by Ranger, glimmer mist

I mentioned yesterday how addicted to Fine Gingham I was. Today’s design uses another stamp set that I just keep coming back to… Kim Hughes’ Collage Elements. I love all the elements  but the one I just can’t keep from putting on every design is the friend definition stamp. I’ve also been having fun incorporating chipboard letters into some designs. Of course, Cosmo Cricket always has really “yummy” paper. The colors are so fab!

Friendship Wish

Quick Tip: Double-sided patterned paper is a lot of fun to work with. It’s a little more expensive but the options for each piece of paper, not to mention how well it coordinates makes it a good investment.

Wishing you joy!

Supply List:

Stamps: Collage Elements 1 (Kim Hughes line) by Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Black Memento by Tsukineko, Espresso, Lettuce, Aqua Adirondack inks by Ranger
Paper: Kraft cardstock by Prism, patterned paper by Cosmo Cricket
Other: 1 3/8″ circle punch, stapler, ribbon by Prima, rhinestones by MAMBI, chipboard