Cherry Blossom Bling

Before I talk about today's card, I just want to give a huge THANK YOU to all the lovely folks who have been visiting the blog!  I hope you know that I don't take a single page look or comment for granted!  Your kind, encouraging words are so very appreciated!  

Now back to the paper;)  Be prepared to see a bunch of Mother's Day cards here in coming days.  Not only do I have the usual bunch on my list (my mom, mom-in-law, sister, sis-in-law), but I have a slew of aunties around the country that I try to get cards to on that special day!  This card is a twist on the standard petal card.  Instead of leaving 2 pointed ends, I used a star punch to make it a cherry blossom petal!  

For a bit of dimension, this is a 2 layer card.  The top layer has a die cut circle.  I glued the petals around the open circle.  When the two layers are put together, the inner part of the petals (see where the glue dots are in the pic?) are adhered to the bottom layer inside of the open circle.  This gives the appearance of being sunken in like a real bloom.  I probably should have used thicker foam squares to really exaggerate the look.    

The "stamen" flower center was cut using my Silhouette on vellum.  {I believe that the Silhouette design is one of the free ones that came with my machine}  I added the gems to each dot and colored the whole thing with a copic.  I randomly bent some of the stamens so that they pop off the card here and there.  I love the little blingy bits!

Now for the sentiment...I embossed the sentiment in white with every intention of blending some ink over it.  I just couldn't do it!  It turns out that I really, really like the white on white look!  The heart wants what the heart wants, right?

Well, that's it for me today!  It's been a long week and I'm enjoying my free day.  I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend too!   Thanks for taking a peek!

{Aloha, jj}

Paper: Cover Smooth White 100 lb 188091 (International Paper); Berry Sorbet, Vellum (PTI)

Stamps: Rubber Mother's Day Stamp ($1 bin at Michael's)

Ink: Versamark, Copic marker

Embellishments: Embossing powder; gems

Tools: Square Punch (EK Success); Corner Chomper; Silhouette

Mother's Day Peony

Trying out a new technique today!  You know I love to play with my dies and today I'm trying out a layered look.  I don't know if the technique itself was successful, but I actually do like how the card turned out!  In person, the bold peony strikes you first and then you ever...so...slowly focus in on the letters.  Maybe this first try wasn't a huge success, but don't be surprised if you see this technique again in some form:) 

{This card was REALLY hard to photograph, so I apologize for so many pics at so many wonky angles.}  I started off by stamping the images onto 2 separate pieces of white cardstock.  For this technique to work, you need 2 stamped images that are exactly the same.  To achieve this, I laid all 3 stamps onto my acrylic block together (1 flower and 2 leaves).   With a little selective inking and the help of my Stamp-a-ma-jig, I was able to get 2 duplicate images.  I die cut the letters out of one of the images and layered the die cut letters onto the other image with tiny pieces of foam tape.  Although I really like the final look, next time I'll probably try this with a smaller scale design.  

Just a tip about working with really small die cuts.  I highly recommend getting some KoolTak clear "foam tape".  It's more like clear "rubber tape", but it works really well for getting some dimension on very small pieces.  They sell the roll type (pictured below) or a precut square type.  I prefer the roll tape because it's noticeably thicker than the square type.  I got it from Simon Says Stamp.     

As always, THANK YOU so, so much for stopping by!  Hope everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend!  

{Aloha, jj}

Paper: Cover Smooth White 100 lb 188091 (International Paper), Berry Sorbet (PTI)

Stamps: Pretty Peonies (PTI), Rubber Mother's Day Stamp (for the "Happy" and "Day") ($1 bin at Michael's)

Ink: Strawberry, Basil (Fresh), Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Embellishments: Satin ribbon

Tools: Block alphabet dies (PTI), Corner Chomper

ColourQ Challenge #133 - Quilt Petals

I'm so happy to finally get back to crafting!  With Easter and Spring Break in our rear view mirrow, I can finally get back to regularly scheduled programming.  Today I made a card for the current ColourQ Challenge!    The pillows in the ColourQ inspiration pic made me think of a project that has been sitting in my sewing "someday list".  The project is for some fantastic felt pillows that use a technique frequently used in quilting.  {Visit The Purl Bee website for instructions and details}

To create my petals, I started with 2 die cut leaves (Sending You by PTI).  I put them face-to-face and sewed down the middle of the leaves.  Then I gently folded open the pieces sewn together to reveal a split two-color petal/leaf.  Easier to do than to type directions for;)      

To really showcase the flower, I opted for a black base card.  I also die cut a little frame for the flower to sit in.  In my version you can see the stitch marks along the seam between the two colors.  If you prefer a cleaner look, I suggest using felt instead of paper or gluing the two leaves together.  The sentiment was heat embossed with a little bit of stitching along the bottom edge.    

Before I finish my post, I wanted to recommend 2 products for your crafting arsenal.  The first is Post-It tape on a roll.  All the perks of Post-It notes without the waste.  This tape has the perfect amount of tack and it is perfect for holding down dies in place.  The second is drafting dots.  These removable adhesive circles are meant to hold down drafting paper/blueprint paper on a drafting table.  Very useful!   

That's all for me today!  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day!

{Aloha, jj}

Stamps: Sentiment (Hero Arts)

Ink: Versamark
Paper: Black (PTI), Colored papers from Recollections

Accents: Embossing Powder

Tools: Sending You Leaf Die (PTI), Square Die (Spellbinders)

Moxie Fab World: The Paper Scraps Challenge ~ Color Wheel Birthday

Hey y'all!!  Just got back last night from a week in Atlanta and I feel like I've been off the planet!  Hubby and I had a blast with the boys, but I'm definitely laying low today:)  One of the many stops on this trip was to the High Museum of Art.  Below is a pic of the boys with some of the awesome large scale modern pieces.  {The boys will tell you that I'm a big fan of unposed pics and I'm forever telling them to "act natural", lol!}  

Maybe this is what I had on my mind when I went to work on another card for the Moxie Fab World Paper Scraps Challenge!  As you can see, I used the inlay technique again (the die cut piece is flush with the frame).  The vellum strip is just slightly bowed off of the card.  I didn't want to cover up the colors too much, so the letters are only attached to the vellum at the bottom of each letter.      

I'm so happy with the cheery feel of this card!  Now, I'm off to catch up on all the goodies in my Google reader.  You all have been busy!!  Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful Easter weekend!

{Aloha, jj}

Stamps: Happy Everything (A Muse Studio)

Ink: Black (Stazon)
Paper: White, Black (PTI), Vellum, Colored papers from PTI and Mark's Finest Papers

Tools: Circle dies (Spellbinders), Lower case letters (PTI), Color wheel (Quickutz)