Paper, Scissors and Superheroes

Go-to Gal Challenge: Bazzill Basics Paper...

Hey friends!  Back again today, this time with a Paper Crafts magazine Go-to Gal designer challenge.  Once a month we challenge eachother to create a project featuring a certain manufacturer.  There's no pressure, it's just for fun, and whoever has the time to play along, plays along!  This month we are featuring Bazzill Basics Paper.  Bazzill has been around for a long time and their cardstocks are one of the staples in this industry.  

My card today is all Bazzill with the exception of the sentiment stamp, which is from a Technique Tuesday set.  Those fun papers are from Bazzill's Avalon collection.  I have a thing for bright colored apple prints...if I find dresses or skirts in apple prints for my girls, I snatch them up!  Same goes for apple paper.  So this bright and fun apple print from the Avalon collection immediately caught my eye.

I hand cut three apple images from the patterned paper, stacked them up, and stitched down the center to create the fun dimensional apple.  The leaves were also cut from the same paper.  The sentiment was stamped onto some of their textured Two Scoops cardstock and embossed with Rouge Zing powder.

I posted a set of projects last week that used papers from the Avalon collection as well.  You can click HERE to check them out.

That's all from me today, but be sure to stop by my Go-to Gal buddies to check out what they've created with Bazzill products today!

• Julie Campbell
• Windy Robinson
• Jennifer McGuire
• Kim Kesti
• Teri Anderson

InLinkz.com

Go-to Gal Challenge: SRM Stickers

Happy Leap Day!  The Paper Crafts magazine Go-to Gals are having a little blog hop today.  Just for fun, just a little no-pressure kind of thing we like to do together.  We try to do them on the last Wednesday of the month.  We pick a manufacturer, we make something, we link to eachother.  No pressure, just for fun!  

Today's product feature is SRM Stickers, a company that manufactures sentiment stickers that are great for cardmaking.

I happened across this glorious image on Pinterest the other day and couldn't wait to use it as inspiration for a project and I figured what better time than today? 

And here is a simple take on it...not sure I did it justice...I may have to play around with this idea again.  I used all sorts of randomly sized text paper scraps from my scrap basket to create the background.  The flowers were handcut from a sheet of patterned paper.

I cut up one of the border sticker from the Fancy Thank You sticker sheet to mimic the look of the tape holding up the floral images in the photo.  The sentiment is also from that samer sticker sheet.  A card with absolutely no stamping!  I think it's been a long time since that's happened!  

Thanks for stopping by.  Be sure to pop on by the other Go-to Gals to see what they've created with SRM Stickers.

• Julie Campbell
• Windy Robinson
• Jennifer McGuire
• Kim Kesti
• Teri Anderson

Other:  text/script patterned paper scraps from my scrap bin!

InLinkz.com

Go-to Gal Blog Hop -- A Muse Studio Stamp it 3 Ways (x's 2)

Have you been following along with the Paper Crafts Connection and Moxie Fab World blogs?  Lots of fun sneak peeks of the newest special issue...Stamp It! 3 Ways!  Here's a peek at the cover and you can purchase it by clicking HERE...

In honor of this new issue, my fellow Go-to Gals and I have put together a little Stamp it 3 Ways (x's 2) blog hop!  Each of us has created a project using the Harlequin Background stamp and Essential Sentiments set, both from A Muse Studio.  

I decided to take these stamps and create a colorful birthday card.  For the background, I stamped the Harlequin Background using Versamark ink, then heat embossed it with several different colors of Zing embossing powder for a festive and colorful background!

The simple "happy birthday" sentiment is from the Essential Sentiments set.  I thought the font was perfect for this card.  The fun number border sticker is from Simple Stories Happy Day collection.

The multi-color embossing was really simple to do..let me show you step-by-step how you can do this for yourself...

I started by stamping the Harlequin Background onto Kraft cardstock using Versamark ink.  Then starting in the upper left corner, I sprinkled red powder. When I shook off the powder, I made sure to shake it off towards that corner, so the rest of my stamped image wouldn't get powder on it.

Next I did the orange, sprinkling it diagonally across the card, directly below the red.  Then I shook off the excess, shaking it again towards the red corner.  

Next I did yellow in the same manner, again always shaking excess off towards already powdered image.

Continue this way until the entire image is coated in embossing powder.  I finished with green, then blue.  Once you get to the other corner you can feel free to shake the excess off that end to be sure to cover the entire stamped image.  Then just heat with your heat tool and you're finished!

I love the way the color pops against the Kraft background.  Once again, I'm in love with that Zing powder!

Thanks for stopping by for our little Go-to Gal blog hop!  You can check out what the other Go-to Gals did by clicking on their links...

• Julie Campbell
• Windy Robinson
• Jennifer McGuire
• Kim Kesti
• Teri Anderson

Oh, and it's my turn for Groovin' with the Go-to Gals on the Paper Crafts Connection blog - CLICK HERE to see another project I created from one of the sets featured in the new Stamp It 3 Ways issue!  Psssst...there's a giveaway going on in that post for some cool Technique Tuesday stamps!  

Here's a peek at my project that's featured there today...hop on over to see the entire project!

 Finished size: 4 1/4 x 5 1/2"

InLinkz.com

 As seen HERE on the Paper Crafts Connection blog

InLinkz.com

Go-to Gal Holiday Blog Hop

Good morning!  You've probably already been keeping an eye on the Paper Crafts Connection and Moxie Fab World blogs this week with all of the Holiday Cards & More and World Card Making Day hoopla, right?  If not, be sure to head over there and check it out.  Lots of fun stuff...challenges, giveaways.  Yes, GIVEAWAYS.  

So here's the skinny.

The 2011 edition of Holiday Cards & More is now available for purchase HERE.  

(Gosh, that spool tree is just the cutest thing, isn't it??)

World Card Making Day (WCMD) is this Saturday, October 1st.  WCMD officially kicks off the holiday card making season.  Are you ready?  Do you have a plan?  

Check out the WCMD website for lots of fun stuff...the big WCMD contest, the blog tour (add your link!) as well as tons of projects, including a gallery for you to share your creations.

 

So, I mentioned giveaways a bit ago.  Read on.

My fellow Go-to Gals and I are playing around with some Hero Arts/Basic Grey goodies today.  Each of us selected one of the Nordic Holiday stamp sets to create a card with.  I selected this pretty Poinsettia and Berries set.

 

And here is my card...

I stamped the solid poinsettia image using Latte ink (A Muse Studio) and let them fade into the background a bit for a different take on the typical red poinsettia.  I then stamped the solid leaf and the berry images around the corners.  I topped it off with a label from one of the other Nordic Holiday sets and some patterned paper from the coordinating 6x6 Nordic Holiday pad.  The dove is from the Nordic Holiday Element sticker sheet.  The sentiment is from PTI.  

Ok, so what about this giveaway I keep talking about?  Each Go-to Gal is featuring a Nordic Holiday Basic Grey/Hero stamp set...

Each Go-to Gal is also giving away one of those sets!  

Leave a comment here telling me if you have something fun planned for this weekend's World Card Making Day....and I'll select one winner to receive the Poinsettia and Berries stamp set PLUS a copy of the new Holiday Cards & More!  

Comments must be received by 5:00pm MDT on Thursday, September 29.

Now go hop around to the other 5 Go-to Gals and see what they've created with their selected stamp set.  Be sure to leave each of them a comment for your chance to win!

• Julie Campbell
• Windy Robinson
• Jennifer McGuire
• Kim Kesti
• Teri Anderson

InLinkz.com

Card Making 101 Blog Hop -- Creative Crayons

Hello there!  My fellow Paper Crafts Go-to Gals and I are are hosting a little blog hop today in honor of the back to school season.  School doesn't have to be just for kids...we should never stop learning, right?

Today we are all using Bo Bunny products, but each of us also selected a technique to feature.  For my technique, I decided to play around with crayons...what can I say?  I've got school supplies on the brain.  If you have kids, or grandkids, or kids in your neighborhood, or even if you've ever just happened to bump into a kid on the street, you probably have a basket or tub or drawer that looks something like this:

The crayons, markers and colored pencils seem to mate in that drawer...I swear they are multiplying!  So for today's technique, I pulled out a few crayons to play around with. 

Do you remember creating rubbings with crayons when you were a kid?  I remember sitting in church rubbing over the embossed letters on the hymnal...until my mom would nudge me becuase it was making a bit too much noise.  hee.  That idea was my inspiration for today.

Since crayons are waxy, I thought they would be perfect for doing a resist technique combined with some embossing folders.  I created the backgrounds on these two cards by embossing the background, then rubbing over it with a white crayon, and then rubbing over it with some distress inks...it's a subtle yet pretty effect.  I will show you some step-by-step photos in a bit.

All of the papers and embellishments I used here today are from Bo Bunny's new Blitzen collection...which is so very pretty and wintery.  

The background paper I used here started out as a cream color...after rubbing the white crayon over the embossing, then inking with Fired Brick and Broken China distress inks, this is the result.  It's hard to see in the photo, but in real life the raised portions also took on a bit of shine from the wax of the crayon, which adds to the effect.

There are lots of possibilities for this technique...dark crayons over light paper, light crayons over dark paper.  You could also use spray mists instead of ink...which I tried and was pretty fun too.  

I used lots of chipboard snowflakes from the Blitzen collection to embellish this card.  

Here are a few easy step-by-steps if you want to play around with this idea for yourself.

Step 1:  Emboss your design using an embossing folder or impression plate.  I used the Cuttlebug Snowflake folder here.  After embossing, leave it in the folder with the design still alligned.  Choose a crayon color...I found good old Crayolas worked best...other off brands are too waxy and don't rub off smoothly.

Step 2:  Peel the paper off of the crayon and rub over the design with the length of the crayon (not the tip).  It's hard to see in the photograph since my paper is cream and my crayon is white, but just be sure to cover all of the embossing with the crayon.  Leaving it in the embossing folder while you do this step gives the embossing something solid underneath for the crayon to rub on and prevents it from getting in between the raised portions.

Step 3:  Ink over the embossed design with distress inks.  When you're finished, take a dry paper towel and rub over your paper -- this takes off the excess ink from the waxy portions of the embossing, making your embossed design pop.  

That's all there is too it... just a fun thing to play around with using supplies you most likely already have on hand.  Gotta love that.  :-)

You'll want to be sure to check out my fellow Go-to Gal "instructors" to see what techniques they're teaching today!

Professor Campbell with "Hand-stitching Techniques 101" 
Professor Kesti with "Paper Piecing" 
Professor McGuire is featuring "Paper Heart Garlands for Beginners" 
Professor Robinson is teaching "Pleating with Paper 111" 

Unfortunately, Professor Anderson could not join us today as she had a run-in with Irene this past weekend!  

Thanks for stopping by!  All products are linked in the thumbnails below.

 

Scrap organization + GTG Challenge + Shipping Code!

Hey there!  I've got a whole lot of information for you today!  Are you ready?  I'm feeling a little less zombie-ish after a couple days of catching up after Stamp-a-Faire, so let's see if I can manage to write a coherent post.  :-)

First up, today is my day to blog over on the Paper Crafts Connection blog.  I'm talking about organizing scraps.  In a nutshell, this project stemmed from wanting to use up a whole lot of patterned paper strips (check the PCC blog for full details and also a little GIVEAWAY!!).  Head over there to check out the whole story!  In my post there, I mentioned that I would share a few more details on the card set I created, so here goes.  

Here is my set of cards...

The cards started out with an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of cardstock that I covered with assorted strips of patterned paper that looked like this (the one I used for this set is on the left, tucked under the sheet lying on top.

I proceded to cut that strip-covered sheet apart into 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" blocks to use as my card fronts (which were actually then trimmed down to 4 x 5 1/4" to allow for a little border around the edges).  I then used those pieces to create a set of 5 cards (shown above).  

I thought I'd show them up close here so you could get a better look.  I didn't add a whole lot to those patterned paper covered blocks.  I just pulled out the Essential Sentiments stamp set from A Muse Studios (we're giving this set away on the PCC blog!) which covers lots of different occasions and made it very simple to create a set of multi-occasion cards. 

First up, a sympathy card.  I felt the colors and patterns of the papers worked well for a sympathy card.  I simply added a punched oval along with my stamped sentiment and a flower sticker that had been floating around my scrap basket for awhile!

Next up is a birthday card.  I really love the way each card has its own look...the patterned paper strips took on a totally new look depending on which part of the sheet they were cut from.  This one has a little lighter feel than the last.  I just added a stamped sentiment, a bit of ribbon, buttons and a pin.  I also stamped some leaves from the Beautiful Botanicals 2 set, also from A Muse.  

Next up, I decided to do some diecutting from the strip-covered blocks.  I diecut one of the Papertrey Mat Stack dies from the center of one of the blocks.  I was able to create two cards this way.  One using the negative to create a window (sentiment and leaves are stamped inside the card), and the other as a focal point.  

And my 5th and last card created from that one 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of patterned paper covered cardstock is an anniversary card.  Very simple here again, just a stamped sentiment and finished off with a pretty diecut edge and the same leaf stamp as above.  

I had a lot of fun playing around with this concept and am looking forward to creating more cards with the other sheets I created and showed in the photo at the beginning of this post!  I challenge you to give it a try...it's a great way to play around with combining different patterns and colors and use up your scraps at the same time!  Not to mention the fact that you'll have a pretty snazzy set of cards when you're finished!  :-)

Next on today's agenda...It is the last Wednesday of the month and that means it's time for a Go-to Gal Designer Challenge!  This month my fellow GTGs and I are playing around with the delightful Cosmo Cricket products.  What's not to love about Cosmo Cricket????  Seriously cute stuff.  Their colors always grab me and their nod to vintage melts my heart for sure.  I am completely addicted to their 6x6 pads.  Don't you love them?  Here are a few of my fav's (click to see more).... 

For my project today I reached for the Social Club collection.  I used the 6x6 pad and fun chipboard elements from that collection to create today's card.  I think that "best friends" banner element is so cute.  I mimicked the look of the banner by putting strips of patterned paper behind it at an angle across my card and tucking notched banner strips behind it.  

I added some twine and chipboard flowers to finish it off.  

Be sure to hop around to my fellow Go-to Girls Julie, Windy, Jennifer, Kim, and Teri to see their Cosmo creations!

And finally today....SHIPPING CODE ALERT!  

 

How would you like to pick up some Cosmo Cricket goodies of your own?  Or any other goodies your heart may desire?  As a special treat just for my readers, I've got a shipping code for Two Peas.  This code will get you free domestic shipping on any order of $35 or more.  The usual limit is $50, but the Two Peas peeps are offering a deal just for you!  Enter the code SHIPBV when checking out and you'll get the free shipping if your order exceeds the $35.  Offer is good now through Friday night at midnight for domestic shipping on non-digital, non-phaseout product only.  Happy shopping!!

(Pssst....they have all of those cute 6x6 Cosmo pads I linked above!  :-) ) 

I hope you're having a fabulous Wednesday...thanks for stopping by!

All supplies for the above projects are linked below!

Product not linked:  patterned papers from my scrap basket!

 

Go-to Gal Challenge: Bella Blvd +Card Creations!

Hey all!  I hope you're having a fantastic week!  I think we're finally in for some summer heat here in Iowa!  

Today I'm teaming up with my fellow Go-to Gals for our monthly challenge!  This month we are featuring products from Bella Blvd.  What fun and coloful products they have!  I even just love the name of the company itself.  Bella Blvd...it just screams cute!  

Besides their fun papers and embellishments, Bella Blvd has some awesome sticker sheets.  I'm kind of a secret sticker hoarder.  Especially alphabets.  I have two giant baskets of them...and that was after I purged some a few weeks ago!  yikes.  But these Bella Blvd sheets are extra special because they contain a bunch of different alphabets all on the same sheet...different sizes, different colors, different fonts.  Plus, they have their Alphas + Bits sheets which are 12x12 sheets stocked with a couple of alphabets plus a whole bunch of cutie-pie labels and phrases.  Seriously...check them all out HERE!  Love! 

I decided to put a whole bunch of them to use in a bit of an unconventional way.  Of course they make great sentiments on cards or titles on scrapbook pages, but how about backgrounds?

I started with a sheet of cardstock, then just covered it with assorted letter stickers, nestling them next to eachother and filling in the gaps with some smaller stickers from the sheets.  I allowed some of them to overhang the edges of the cardstock, then trimmed the excess off.  

I topped it off with a little sticker grouping using some elements from the Mr. Boy Alpha + Bits sheet and a bit of baker's twine.  This would be a cute card for a baby boy congrats or a little boy's birthday.  All supplies are linked in the thumbnails at the bottom of this post.

In other news, have you visited the Paper Crafts Connection Blog or Moxie Fab World this week?  We're celebrating the release of the latest Stamp It! Cards!  

 

There are SO many great cards in this issue!  I had so many A-HA! moments when looking through it.  There are some clever, clever uses for stamps in this issue from lots of clever ladies.  LOVED every bit of it!  You can pick up your copy here.

And while we're talking Stamp It!, did you know that Paper Crafts has parterned with Leisure Arts to put together a HUGE book filled to the brim with all of the best cards from the previous issues of Stamp It!?  If you missed out on purchasing the previous issues of Stamp It!, this 288 page book is chock full of all the best cards from the first 7 issues.  It's a steal at just $19.95.  You can order your copy HERE.  

 

That's all from me today, but be sure to check out the other Go-to Gals to see their Bella Blvd creations!

• Julie Campbell
• Windy Robinson
• Kim Kesti
• Teri Anderson

Go-to Gal Challenge: October Afternoon

Good morning!  After a short break, we've decided to start up our monthly Go-to Gal challenges again!  This month we are all using October Afternoon goodies.  I just love their stuff..vintage, colorful and so me!

I just might be slightly obsessed with their new 5 and Dime collection.  Maybe.  Just maybe.  :-)

I just love the happy colors in this collection.  It reminds me of a vintage tablecloth.  I used patterned papers from the 8x8 pad, a lable sticker, and the scallops at the top are from the Chip 'n Stick chipboard.  The "take note" is from their coordinating stamp set which is also super cute...AND really they feel like good-quality stamps as well.  Some of the clear stamps that coordinate with paper lines can be really squishy and gooey, but these feel great.   

 That's all for me today!  I had so much fun playing with this collection that I actually have another 5 and Dime card to post tomorrow.  :-)  Now go see what the other Go-to Gals created with their October Afternoon goodies.  

• Julie Campbell
• Windy Robinson
• Jennifer McGuire
• Kim Kesti
• Teri Anderson

(click on photos for product links)

October Afternoon 5 and Dime Label stickers	October Afternoon 5 and Dime Chip 'n Stick	5 and Dime Paper Pad	Harvest Gold Cardstock
Papertrey Vintage Buttons	5 and Dime Stamps