I Love You . . . This Much!

There are so many phrases connected to Valentines Day, and this one happens to be one of my favorites.

"I love you, this much" and then a figure with out-stretched arms is well known throughout the states. When I saw this Pure Innocence stamp set, I thought of that phrase, and knew I had to have it. 

I took the red card base and attached a sheet of printed paper to the front of the card.  I then attached a strip of loop braid across the bottom of the card with red line double stick tape. The little girl was stamped on white card stock with black ink, and then her features colored in with my Copic markers. I paper pieced her dress with a scrap of the reverse side of the background paper. (I love double-sided papers!)  The tag was punched from a Magnolia die, and was then accented and colored with Distressed Inks and Wink of Stella glitter pens. The " I love you stamp" was stamped on the tag and then a piece of red ribbon and "XOXO" die cut was added before popping the entire tag on foam tape and adhering to the front of the card. 

The supplies used for this card were as follows:

card stock:  wild cherry, primitive white, and smooth white from My Favorite Things

background paper:  Valentine mat pad by Martha Stewart Crafts

stamps: Pure Innocence "Love is in the Air" from My Favorite Things, and sentiment from clupScrap, Inc.

dies:  Romantic Tag Doohickeys from Magnolia Stamps, and Love Words from MFT

I hope you enjoy making Valentines cards as much as I do. Sending handmade cards to family and friends is one of my favorite things to do, so enjoy creating and sending cards to those YOU love! See you again soon.

Special Delivery Balloons

Happy Day for me! I received my order from My Favorite Things today with their new releases for January 2014!  I purchased two new Pure Innocence sets, (with cards to follow soon!) a Die-namics die set with Lots of Love words, and the new DC Heart Balloons set along with the matching Die-namics Heart Balloons dies which I had to make a card with immediately!

The card base is an A2 size card with the bitty hearts background from the PI Love is in the Air stamp set stamped all willy-nilly over the card with Color Box Chalk Ink in Warm Violet.  I then cut the three sizes of balloons from the die set and white card stock, and then stamped the coordinating balloon stamp over the die using Memento Inks, Love Letter, Rose Bud, and Grape Jelly.  I also cut the "love you" from white card stock using the Lots of Love Words die set, and stamped the balloon strings and sentiment "special delivery" in tuxedo black Memento ink. I then arranged the balloons like I wanted them and attached them to the card front with Zot dots and foam tape on the large purple one. I wanted the "love you" to pop up just a little, but not as much as the large balloon, so I used rolled Zot dots under the letters to adhere them to the card.

I spent most of the day reading posts from the CHA trade show in Anaheim, CA from all my favorite blogs. There are so many new products being shown there, I'm kinda glad I am unable to attend. I think I would go crazy, wanting to take every class and check out every booth.  I will just stay here at home, and enjoy hearing from friends who are out there shopping for their stores, and continue making cards that make me happy!  Take care, and have a great day!

Frame - Let Freedom Ring!

I Love Independence Day, The 4th of July, or whatever you call it! I love America, the Red, White, and Blue, God Bless the USA, Let Freedom Ring, and all of the other phrases we use to celebrate out great land.  With the holiday right around the bend, the end of this week, I decided to create a Home Decor item that would blend in with any decor you may have. Celebrate our country year-round with this wonderful frame.

I started with an unfinished 5 X 7 frame with glass, and a 5 X 7 frame die cut from Daisy D's designs.   I also had a roll of 4" wide patriotic sheer ribbon with stars and stripes on it. I took a 12" long strip of the wired edged ribbon and accordion folded it along the length of the ribbon.  I then took a small piece of wire, and tied the ribbon about 1" from the bottom of the folds. After tying it tightly, I cut off the bottom inch and set it aside.  I then fanned out the top folds to form the banner.  I glued it to the top of the frame with hot melt glue and then adhered the frame die cut over the face of the frame, thus overlapping the ribbon edge I glued down. To decorate the outside, I glued a satin ribbon bow on top of the banner and added a velvet flower to the ribbon.

For the inside of the frame, I took the middle section of the die cut that had the phrase "Let Freedom Ring" printed on it, and die cut around it with the Worn Edge Die from Die-namics (My Favorite Things).  I took another strip of the sheer patriotic ribbon and glued it to the back panel of the frame unit.  I then used temporary tape to adhere the sentiment to the center of the opening, leaving it available for a photo if needed later on.

This could also be a great housewarming gift to present a friend when attending their July 4th barbecue. Then you could take a photo at the get-together, have it printed, and present it to the owner to put in their frame. What a wonderful remembrance gift!

I am entering this in the DL Art Thankful Thursday June Challenge 112 - Patriotic. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, whenever you get to celebrate it.

USA Memorial Day 2013

Happy Memorial Day 2013!  This is Memorial Day weekend, a good time to honor those who fought for our country, and those that still do so.  It's time to remember the Red, White, & Blue, and celebrate the flag we hold so dear.

Today's card is my take on celebrating the Red, White, and Blue with Stars and Flourishes from the Liberty Clear Stamp from Bo Bunny Stamps. I took a white pearlized card base and tried several ink types to stamp on the pearlized side of the card.  First I stamped the star design with the Love Letters Red Memento dye ink. The stamp slid on the slick surface of the card, and smeared. Next I tried inking the stamp with  Majestic Blue Versacolor pigment ink. I knew the pigment ink would take longer to dry on the slick surface of the card, so I was very careful when stamping not to smear the image.  It worked well, but before I got the heat gun to it to dry the ink, I laid my hand in it and smeared the design anyway!  We all have problems now and again.

Luckily, I had another piece of the pearlized stock from the 12 X 12 sheet, so after trimming it down to A2 card size, I folded it inside out, which put the pearlized side inside the card. I then used my two inks mentioned above, to stamp the star and flourishes on the card.  After the ink dried, I took my die cut Star Stax from My Favorite Things, and matched the star size die that matched the star on my stamp. Next, I ran the front of the card through my Cuttlebug machine with my all over Star embossing folder.  I then cut out the inside of the stamped star with the die, and adhered a printed paper with writing behind each opening.  I took the piece I cut out with the die, and cut the next smaller size star from it and switching the colors, put the red cut-out inside the blue star opening, and the blue cut-out inside the red star opening. This gave a little more dimension to the stamped stars on the card front. Using the flourish stamp that accompanied the star with flourish stamp, I stamped it along the lengthwise sides of the card, and then die cut tiny blue stars with the smallest die in the set, and poped them up with foam tape bits to give still more dimension to the front of the card..

After I got all my stamps, dies, and pop-ups positioned on the front of the card like I wanted them, I covered the inside of the card front with a rectangle of red card stock. From the photo you can barely see the print and pearlized finish on the inside of the card. I'm not sure whether I will be able to find some type of permanent marker to write inside the card with or if I will have to write on the red side with a white pen or marker for my greeting.

To finish off the card, I wrapped some peppermint twine from Lawn Fawn, twice around the fold of the card and knotted it on the outside.
I had two white star die cuts left in my scrap pile, so I wrote the letters "USA" on one, and glued it back-to-back around one end of the twine for a dangle embellishment.  I would have loved to add some bling to the card, but there was so much going on with the front of this card, I dared not add more bling.

I am entering this card in the Little Scrap Pieces-Fun Friday Challenge:" Let's hear it for the Red, White & Blue"

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend, stay safe, and cherish this time with your family. If you have a little extra time, create something crafty!  See you soon.

Mindy

Blog-aversary Give Away Winner

A giant Thank You! goes out to all my bloggie friends out there who stopped by and posted a comment on my blog during my One Year Blog-aversary Celebration this past week. The winning entry was randomly selected by the generator at Random.org and that winning entry is: 
#16 Joanie, with your comment on "Good Things come in Small Packages".

Please email me at mindykSA@aol.com with your mailing address, so I can get your package out to you.

I also hope everyone out there had a wonderful Mother's Day. I spent the afternoon watching "My San Antonio Spurs" play basketball on T.V. while working in my art journal.  Unfortunatly the team came up a little short today, but there is always the next game. They will be back in San Antonio for that one! Go Spurs Go!

OK, now on to the card of the day! 

I started with a kraft colored card base and added a Crackle Core-card stock background from Tim Holtz and Co-ordinations papers.  I then cut a printed card base from Prima  printed stock and used my Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator, A2 size with Distressed Edges. On top of the printed stock I attached two die cuts from the Die-namics Well Worn Greetings die from My Favorite Things. The woman's picture was then cut from printed card stock and adhered to the oval die cut.

Below the dies, I tied a single loop bow from gingham brown ribbon and attached a small tag with the phrase "Surprise!" stamped on it and attached it to the bow with a piece of hemp twine and a knot.  This card had so many layers, I decided it didn't need more dimension, other than the bow and tag.  A very simple card, that turned out to have a very vintage feel.

Thanks again for stopping by, I hope everyone has a wonderful day! 

Sketch & Stitch & Sew

Greetings fellow stampers!

Just stopping by to show off part of my Christmas present to myself. Parts of this card were from items I got from My Favorite Things. The little girl in her coat and hat were from the Warm Wishes stamp set, and the lace edging, a die cut titled "Dainty Lace Edge." The flower is from Memory Box Stamps, and all colored items were stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored with Copic Markers.

The quilt square was a pre-printed scrapbook paper image that I cut out and adhered to the card, and the antique sewing machine was a Dazzles sticker from Hot off the Press.  My dark purple ribbon and coloring on the little girl's coat and hat look almost black, but they were colored with a very dark purple copic marker that looked much better in person than on film.
The wording on the card, "Sketch & Stitch & Sew"are from a clear stamp set that I purchased years ago when I first started stamping. The packaging has since deteriorated, so I'm not sure exactly which company made them, but you could very easily have hand written those small words.

I believe I have finally completed my card-making for 2012, so I am off to do a little organizing in my studio before the new year begins.  Then I will begin making cards for birthdays and such for 2013, and the process begins again. Take care and have a wonderful "last week of the year!"

Hello Friend!

Hello Friends,
Today's card is using the 3rd Melange Woman stamp from Paper Wings Productions, and her name is Diana.

The background of this card was made from a piece of eggshell card stock run through a Sizzix embossing folder on my Cuttlebug. After removing it from the folder, I took an older chestnut roan chalk ink pad and ran it lightly over the embossed image.  Be very careful if you use a new chalk ink pad, because they are very juicy when new. I then stamped out Diana on the same eggshell stock and colored her with my Copic markers. Most of the shading is on the stamp itself, so is very easy to make the image look so real. Then using a flourish die from Die-namics and "Hello Friend" from a Sizzix plate, I ran a bronze sheet of stock through the Cuttlebug for the embellishments.  All the pieces were then adhered to a kraft colored card base.

A very easy card with just a little time needed to complete it. Tomorrow I will show and explain the last card in the series of  Melange Women group. Again, if you would like to have a set of these wonderful images or purchase them singly, click here.  See you tomorrow!