Hello . . . and Thank You!

First of all, I want to thank all my followers for supporting Classy Cards 'n Such and the wonderful design team I worked with during the online store closing sale. I am happy to announce that the closing sale has been extended.

Store closing sale extended to March 5th! 53% off all items!!

We have had a fantastic response on our store closing sale!   However, we still have many great items that need a new home.   We are extending the sale to Sunday, March 5th!  

I hope you can pick up a few supplies at a really terrific price!

 And now on to today's post:

 

I recently ordered and received a few of the Angie Girls stamps from Unity Stamp Company.  I have viewed many of them over the years, but have never purchased any of them.  Now, I have three to play with, and they are so much fun to work with.

I started by stamping the Julie Girl stamp then coloring her with my Copic and Clean Color Real Brush markers.  After attaching the panel to the right side of the base card, I added a strip of crystals and lace from Prima called Say It With Crystals. A banner with the sentiment included was stamped and attached to the card front using Glue dots to give the card some dimension.

Thanks for joining me today, have a good one!

Mindy

* I entered this card in the Unity Girl {show&tell} challenge

Holiday JOY!

Greetings, my friends.  Mindy here to share with you a holiday card using the negative space left over when using a die cut system. This is a sample of our weekly challenge at the Classy Cards 'n Such Blog. This was a new challenge for me, because I am fairly new at collecting and  using wafer thin dies in my Cuttlebug machine.  I have so many friends here in bloggie-land that use layers upon layers of dies to create the most beautiful dimensional cards I have ever seen.

The challenge this week is #44- Using the Negative of a die cut, I started out by using an A2 size piece of stock, and die cut the Fancy Ornament Die by Impression Obsession from the center. I then moved the die just a little to the right and down about 1" and cut the circle ornament again.

I then took a lighter piece of A2 stock and embossed the Vintage Flowers Embossing folder from Crafts Too!, and placed it behind the cut out of the ornaments. There was too much open area to show the negative space, so I adhered the positive image ornament in the lower opening and added some glitter. I also added a silver bow and some glitter thread to each ornament to look as if it were hanging from the tree.

To add a little more bling to the card, I added some of the Allure Swirl- Silver Rhinestones down the left side, and die cut the word JOY for the sentiment.

There are so many new products available in the Classy Cards 'n Such Online Store, I hope you will stop by, and don't forget to use my 10% off coupon, details above in right column.  Just add MINDY-10 as coupon code in the box on the checkout page, and you get a 10% discount on your complete purchase.

I hope you will all try something new when creating your cards. It is so much fun to try a new technique when being creative! Have fun, and see you again soon.

Our Family Stay-cation . . . Boring!

Greetings All!  Summer is here, and vacations are on the rise.  Here is a card to celebrate "staying at home" instead of "hitting the road" this year!

A friend of mine had to inform her kids today, that there would be no vacation trip this year, and they would have to enjoy staying home this summer!  Of course, the reply was "Boring"!  School has only been out less than a week, and they are already bored silly.

To start, I used a precut A2 size card and attached a piece of patterned paper to it.  I stamped this image, one of Janie's Girls from Hot Off the Press on X-press blending card and colored it in with my Copic markers. I then stamped the plumeria flowers from the Tropicals flower stamp from Stampendous, and trimmed along one edge. These were also colored with Copics. I fussy cut around both the girl stamp and flowers, and then mounted them to the background with foam adhesive tape. Before attaching the girl's image to the floral background, I attached a square of vellum that I embossed in my Stripes Embossing Folder by running through my Cuttlebug machine. It diffused the bright flowers from the background, so the girl's image could more readily be seen.  I then stamped the saying from one of Winnie & Walter's new stamp sets, "The Big, the Bold, and Fun" stamp set.

After I finished this card, and was writing this post, I decided the plumeria needed a tiny pearl in the center of each flower.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. I took off a little time last week to work on some "special" projects, and to celebrate my birthday on Wednesday. I am now back on track and will visit again with you soon. 

Happy Stamping!

Birthday Cutie

Happy Thursday everyone!  It's always nice to celebrate a birthday. Today we are celebrating with Katie, one of Julie Nutting's Prima Doll Stamps. I started this card with papers I ordered from Classy Cards 'N Such Online Store.  I used the Silver Metallic and Stardream Punch Metallic card stock to die cut the Scallop Polka Dot frame from Sizzix, punching one of each color. I also used the Silver for the card base and Stardream Onyx Metallic for the background. I then stamped Katie on a sheet of Xpress Blending card stock and colored her with Copic markers.  After mounting her on a sheet of printed paper, I trimmed her to fit the opening of the frame, and glued the paper inside the edge of the frame. I also die cut four corner adornments from the same die set and adhered them to the four corners of the card base.

To assemble the card, I used foam tape to adhere the frame unit to the card front, to give it more dimension. I also added some Prima flowers, some ribbon, and a happy birthday tag to the side of the frame.  I also added small pink rhinestones to the right of the image, and a tiny birthday hat to Katie's head. The birthday hat was made from one of Winnie & Walter's New stamp sets, "Rectangled &Triangled!

I am entering this birthday card in the Weekly Challenge at Classy Cards 'N Such -Birthday Wishes

I hope you are having a wonderful week, full of happiness and best wishes. Take time to make a birthday card for someone you love. See you soon!
Mindy

Love You!

Greetings, it's Friday! The weekend is here!  Another fun Valentine's Day card filled with hearts, lace, and lacy butterflies. Enjoy!

I began this card with a delightful dimensional background paper. The white areas of the paper are flocked, and very fuzzy. I accented the background paper with a strip of chevron stripe washi tape across the card.  I then got out my Cuttlebug die cut machine and cut out the lace heart die from Paper Artsy- Hot Off the Press from metallic white card stock. Then using the Paper Artsy Butterfly dies, cut out two butterflies and colored them with my pink Wink of Stella Glitter pen. Since the metallic stock has a glossy finish, I brushed on a layer of the glitter, and then dabbed it with a paper towel, giving it a mottled finish.  I used the same technique on the chipboard words from Maya Road. These chipboard letters are porous though, and after the first layer of Wink of Stella marker, I decided to add another layer of color on top of the chipboard. All of the elements were glued down with Ranger Glossy Accents. When adhering the butterflies, I only glued down the bodies of them, that way the wings are loose, and could be curled and crimped to give dimension.  I also added a tiny bow die cut, again colored with the Wink of Stella marker.

I hope you have enjoyed my Valentine's Day cards this year. They will be sent out to my Valentines next week. I love you all, and hope you will send and receive handmade cards this year.

Mindy

With All My Heart

Happy Friday, one and all! My first Valentine of the season, I love you "With All My Heart" which is the name of this Pure Innocence stamp set from My Favorite Things.  The little girl is so cute hugging the giant heart, especially when colored with my Copic markers. 

This card is an A6, a little larger than I am used to making.(4 1/2" X 6 1/2") The white card base with red front background has a pre-cut window in which I have to find a certain size design to fit the window. Luckily, the Pure Innocence Girl fits just fine. I have a few more designs coming up before the Rodeo here in San Antonio.The other card color combinations fit better with the Pure Innocence Cowboy and Cowgirl images I purchased. They will be featured soon, the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo begins February 6.

Anyway, back to the Valentine card.  I stamped the image with Memento black ink on a scrap of white card, then colored it in with Copic markers. I also used the Wink of Stella glitter pen on the heart to really make it sparkle. I fit the image in the pre-cut window, and taped it down with double stick tape. I cut a piece of hearts printed paper and attached to the inside front of the card to hide the layers of stock.  To finish off the card front, I attached a flourish of pearls along with a tiny shaped heart button.

I hope you all have a wonderful day, and wonderful weekend. If the weather has warmed where you are, enjoy the outdoors!

More Thanks

More thanks for you this day! I am still busily making thank you notes to send from the holidays. Today's note is a very simple note, yet I jazzed it up a bit by using some light molding paste and a plastic stencil from My Favorite Things (square tiles), along with some copper and teal Perfect Pearls to color it with on my patterned paper. It was then adhered to my card base with double sided tape.  I stamped the Pure Innocence Cowgirl image on white card stock and colored her with my Copic markers then fussy cut out the image. The "Thanks" stamp was from Studio G (Hampton Arts) from the dollar bin at Michael's, and it too was stamped on white stock with Danube Blue ink from Memento.  I backed the sentiment with a mottled blue card stock, edged with a Spellbinders Ornate Squares die, and then added acrylic stones from Want2Scrap for some sparkle.he sentiment and Cowgirl were mounted on the front of the card with foam tape, to add dimension. That's it,  I left the inside clean, so that I could write my own message before sending. 

Thank you all for visiting with me today, I hope you have a great day, and a Happy 2014!  Happy New Year Friends!

A Special Gift

Your friendship is a Special Gift!  Hello Friends! Today's card is an easel card whose design aspect was found on the Splitcoast Stampers tutorial blog from YouTube.

I just received this wonderful stamp collage from Art Gone Wild Stamps, and the title is "Your Friendship." I stamped out the entire image on white cardstock with Tuxedo black Memento ink, and then colored it in with my Tim Holts Distressed Markers. The entire image consists of 5 squares, 4 flower images and the one sentiment word rectangle. Since the card measures 4 1/2"X 4 1/2", I trimmed off 2 floral squares, and adhered them to the inside of the card.  I matted the image for the front of the card with an irridescent sparkly silver paper, and then another layer of white stock.  For the snowflakes, I cut two from white stock and two from the sparkly silver stock. I then added a clear rhinestone in the center for bling.

Inside, I cut a band of the silver stock and placed it on the base, and then added the Asian Accent Border from Spellbinders cut in avocado green as the stop guage for the front of the easel card.

You tuck the front of the card, as you open it, under the edge of the loopy border and that holds the card open to set on your table or desk. I'm sorry I cannot show the card in dimension, but my digital camera is hiding from me at the moment, and I haven't had time to go "seek" it.   To see the card in 3-D, please search YouTube for video on Easel Cards or the Splitcoast Stampers tutorials to get more ideas on these cards.

Have a wonderful week, and stay safe in your travels for the holidays.

A Few More Thelma Tags

I finished a few more tags with the "Thelma" stamp my friend Mark Jetton at Deadbeat Design Stamps sent me.  He also promoted my blog on his post yesterday, so I thought if someone came looking for his link I would have more than the one little tag I posted yesterday.  Thelma is so much fun to stamp, color, and even paper piece! 

I have been adding scraps of scrapbook paper to tags for backgrounds for several weeks now.  If you viewed my blog last year before Christmas, you saw the tags I made to decorate a Christmas tree for our church group.  This year I am doing something different with the church group, but we haven't quite decided yet what it will be.  I do, however, like to have some tags prepared for decorating, "just in case I need them!"  Since many of Mark's stamps are Texas themed, I thought I would use another themed set by Paper Wings Productions (also Texas based) for the Texas sayings. These were from the Texas Quotes set.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend, preparing for Thanksgiving which is not too far away. These tags also make  wonderful place cards for your Thanksgiving table. So why not make up a batch to decorate your table, "and let your creative juices flow!"  See you soon.
Mindy

Stopping By to Say Hello . . . .and Thank You!

Today's post is a combo of cards that I have been working on. They have been decorated with papers/tags that I colored with the Tattered Angels Paint Systems that I purchased recently.  The first card, Stopping by to say Hello, uses a strip of watercolor paper colored with the Naturally Aged Paint System, Precious Stone; Turquoise, and then embossed with the Sea Beauty Embossing Folder from Spellbinders.


I adhered a strip of the watercolor paper down the left side of the A2 card, and trimmed with a row of cream iridescent double loop braid from Michaels' Dollar bin. I then added a cream colored fabric flower from Prima along with some pearl bling also from Prima. The Angel stamp is from American Art Stamp, and is stamped on Ranger glossy paper with Rich Cocoa Memento Ink and colored with copic markers.  I attached the angel with foam tape to pop it up, along with the sentiment stamped on a manila tag.

Card #2 has a manila tag colored with the same Turquoise Paint System, attached on top of a card base with a scrap of patterned paper as the background.

The angel is from the same American Art Stamp set, stamped and colored with the same ink and markers.  Using several leaf metal dies, I punched out some leaves from various green papers and attached a cluster to the card front and tied with a bow of Limeade lawn trimmings from Lawn Fawn.  I adhered a strip of wide Huckleberry rick-rack trim from Li'l Davis Designs and then stamped  Thank You on a die cut banner. The angel was again attached with foam tape to give it dimension on the card.

I hope you have enjoyed these cards as much as I enjoyed making them.  I love layering papers and tags, ribbons and embellishments.  I find it hard at times to stop, before making the card too thick, as to require more postage at the post office to mail them.  I know the poor Postal Service is going broke due to the drop in postal business, but I just can't see spending that much to mail an envelope. I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. Until next week, Joy to all and enjoy yourself!
Mindy

Maiden of the Sea

Today's tag background is created using the Lagoon Color Paint System from Tattered Angels. It coordinates with many of the Prima Marketing products. I love the colors included in this set, especially since my go-to colors have been turquoise and aquas lately.  The products included in this Paint System Kit are: 

 1.  Glimmer Mist:  Apricot Nectar- adds a chalk-matte finish with a fine glimmer;  2.  Glimmer Mist:  Bahama Blue- a watercolor mist with a touch of glimmer;  3.  Glimmer Glam:  Golden Goddess- a paint with a fine glimmer, plus glitter; and 4.  Glimmer Glaze:  Pewter- a paint with a fine glimmery sparkle.                                                I used this Paint System to spray one of the large Prima printed tags, and then left it to air dry.  When the tag was dry, I cut out three of the elements from the Paper Wings Productions August Nesting Components Kit and layered them with some of the lace included in the August Kit. I gathered the lace gently and adhered it to the back of the photo, and then adhered it to the top of the flourish print, overlapping it slightly.  After adhering it to the tag, I used foam tape to adhere the clock face to the top right corner of the tag.  I found some beaded trim in my stash that had small metal coins attached, and thought that it would coordinate with the water colors of the background.  I used red line double stick adhesive to attach it to the bottom of the tag, and then used more embellishments from the August Nesting Components Kit to complete my tag.  The pearls and ribbon just added a bit of bling to the composition.

Since I covered most of the tag with embellishment, I decided to take a picture of the tag after I sprayed the layers of color from the Lagoon Paint System package. You can see from the picture how wonderfully the colors blend and compliment each other, so that if you are new to spray coloring or have trouble coordinating your colors, like I do, these pre-packaged Paint Systems are just what you need to help you get started.  After a while, you will learn which colors go well together, so you can make your own color combinations to use on your art projects.

                       I hope you have enjoyed this project with me, and that you will join me next time for two projects using the Daily Junque and Soiree Paint Systems from Tattered Angels. Until then, have a great weekend.

Mindy

                                                                                                                                                                  

PRIMA DOLL BLOG HOP- Week #4- Winter project

Welcome friends, get out the tissues because we have come to the final week and projects of our Prima Doll Blog Hop.(Boo Hoo)  This is Week #4, and we are celebrating the Winter Season of  projects.

I hope you have enjoyed all of our projects using the  Mixed Media Doll Stamps from Prima and artist, Julie Nutting.  We have had so much fun playing with our stamps, and if you  haven't had a chance to check out all our posts and comment on them, do so now!  The rules for our Hop are very simple!

We asked that throughout the month of August you check out our posts every Tuesday, to see the projects we shared, and leave a comment on each of our Seasonal posts. Be sure and leave an email address with your comment, because on August 30th, each participant will be drawing from it's list of comments, and one lucky person will receive a prize package.  Yes, each of us will be drawing a winner from our blog posts.

THAT MEANS SIX WINNERS, AND SIX PRIZES ARE AVAILABLE! You can check on each blog to see what each participant will be giving away!

Remember. . . . You will  need to have commented on each Tuesday's posting  to be eligible to win that artists  prize package. And. . . . . if you shared the hop information on your Facebook page, or Twitter account, or became a follower or subscriber to our blogs, you will get additional entries in each giveaway!


So, what do you say?  Are you ready to continue with the fun?  Here are our participants and their final Blog Hop postings!  They are waiting for your visit!

DAR'S CRAFTY CREATIONS

PRIMITIVE SEASONS

A MERMAIDS CRAFTS

NELLIES NEST

PAPER & INK WITH MULBERRY MINDY (you are Here!)

SCRAP FOR JOY

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

With Winter being one of my favorite seasons, I decided to use one of my Doll Stamps to make an Angel Tree Topper for one of my many Christmas Trees.  I usually decorate 4 or 5 various size trees each Christmas, with each tree celebrating a different theme depending on which room they are displayed in.  For example, one of my tree's in my guest bedroom is decorated with handmade beaded and jeweled ornaments that my Mother made and handed down to me. Another bedroom has a tree decorated in "Bird ornaments".(My Mother loved birds of all kinds.) My entryway has a tree decorated in all "TEXAS" ornaments that I have collected over the years.  I have an "Angel Tree" decorated in all handmade Angel ornaments, and my craft studio has a tree decorated in handmade "Paper crafted ornaments". Everything from paper ornaments, paper chains, paper stars, and recycled Christmas cards.

This topper is going to be used on my handmade "Angel Ornament Tree". Most of the ornaments on this tree are in various shades of pink, ivory, and white, with metallic silver accents. Although, when I photographed it, the silver accents and ribbon look golden. (sorry)  I started with Prima Doll Stamp #11- Lorena.  She has a wonderful full skirt, and also looks fabulous as a bride.

I began by stamping Lorena twice, on Neenah white card stock. I then fussy cut out one full doll and one skirt only. Using my Copic Markers, I colored in her dress using two lovely shades of pink to accent my Christmas Tree.  Using a ball-tipped stylus, I scored the various fold lines in both skirts to give them some dimension. The next step consisted of applying the embellishments, pearls and rhinestones,(pink of course) from Prima Marketing, "Say it in Crystals." Starting at her waist, I applied the self adhesive pearls and stones down the front panel of her skirt and added a few stones around the hemline.  I then gathered some silver mesh ribbon and attached it to the bottom of the skirt for another ruffle.  I applied a few small stones to her headband and a circle of silver rope cording as her halo.

I then stamped two of the mixed media Wings stamps on watercolor paper, and used a pale pink watercolor pencil to shade each wing before attaching to her back.  Using red line double stick tape adhesive, I cut small strips and taped the two skirt sections together to form a cone shape. To complete the angel topper, I folded a ribbon rosebud from the silver mesh ribbon and attached several strands of thin silver ribbon behind it, and glued this bouquet into her hand.

I think she turned out gorgeous, and would also look terrific with smaller, single layer doll ornaments also decorating the tree. One of my fellow Prima Doll hoppers, suggested using the doll stamps on shrink plastic, and I thought this would be a great idea for my tree ornaments. But needless to say, I could only find my black opaque shrink plastic to try them out. I will have to make a trip to my LSS to see if I can find some of the clear or white opaque shrink plastic before the ornaments are made.

I hope you have all enjoyed this Blog Hop, as much as we have enjoyed bringing it to you. My fellow blogsters have given me so many wonderful ideas on projects to try, I may never get any more housework done! 

DON'T FORGET TO HOP ON OVER TO SCRAP FOR JOY , to see what Joyce has for you today!

If you need to catch up on previous posts during our hop, or comment on one you missed, click on one of these links to take you to that Seasons postings. Thanks again for visiting, and Good Luck on the Prize Drawing!

Week #1- SPRING

Week #2- SUMMER

Week # 3 - FALL

Week #4 - WINTER (you are HERE)

                                                                                                                                  



PRIMA DOLL STAMP BLOG HOP! -Week #1 -Spring

WOW! Have you seen the Prima Mixed Media Doll Stamps from artist Julie Nutting? The are adorable!

A few of us are having so much fun with them that we've decided to put together a 4-part Blog Hop, and the rules are very simple.

Each Tuesday throughout the month of August;  August 6, 2013  August 13, 2013  August 20, 2013 and August 27, 2013 we will be sharing creations made with a variety of these fabulous stamps to inspire you. This is going to be a 4-Seasons Blog Hop with each Tuesday's project featuring a season of the year. 

The theme of Tuesday, August 6, 2013 will be SPRING FEATURES!

The theme of Tuesday, August 13, 2013 will be SUMMER FEATURES!

The theme of Tuesday, August 20, 2013 will be FALL FEATURES! and

The theme of Tuesday, August 27, 2013 will be WINTER FEATURES!

All you will need to do is HOP to each of our blogs each Tuesday in August and leave us a comment. Be sure to include your email address, because on August 30th we will

 EACH be giving  away a prize!

Yes, each participant will be giving away a prize package, and these packages will be shown on each of our blogs during the Hop! REMEMBER. . . .you will need to comment each Tuesday to be eligible for the prize drawing.  AND. . . if you share our hop information on your blog, Facebook Page, or Twitter account, be sure to let us know and you will get a

SECOND chance at the prize drawing. WAIT THERE IS MORE!

If you become a follower/subscriber to our blog, you will get a THIRD chance!!!!

So, what do you say?  Ready for some FUN??????

Here are our participants, they are waiting for your visit!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dar's Crafty Creations 

Primitive Seasons

A Mermaids Crafts

Nellies Nest

Paper & Ink with Mulberry Mindy (you are HERE)

Scrap For Joy

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

So, without further ado, here is my Spring Doll Feature: The Spring Doll Door Hanger!

My Spring Doll Door Hanger is made from "Olive", one of the newer doll stamp releases, and she is mounted on  a wooden unfinished triangular banner that I painted with Baby Pink acrylic paint. I then adhered a sheet of Rose Garden printed paper from First Edition papers.  Rubber stamp accents such as bees, peacock feathers, and border was stamped with Sepia brown Archival Ink from Ranger. Olive was also stamped with the brown Archival Ink on a Prima Tag Pad and then cut out and applied to the banner.

I colored her features with Copic markers, added a paper pieced skirt from the Rose Garden paper pad, and adhered her to the banner with 3-D glue dots.  I also added vellum daffodil stickers and dragonflies, along with a tag cut from the Rose Garden paper pad.  A cute printed grosgrain ribbon was tied in two bows, and then used as the hanger loop to hang from any door knob or on a bedroom wall.  I hand wrote the inspirational word "PLAY" to the door hanger to symbolize the child in all of us, using my Posca markers. To top it all off, I added some acrylic stones for bling on the dragonflies and necklace for the doll.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Don't forget to leave a comment on my blog to be eligible for my "BLOG CANDY" giveaway! Please check my sidebar on the right for a picture and list of my Blog Candy Prize!

AND DON'T FORGET TO CONTINUE ON HOPPING TO  JOYCE'S BLOG,

"SCRAP FOR JOY" to continue on the hop!

Here is another of my projects using my Prima Doll Stamps.

Thanks for stopping by, see you again soon!

Mindy

I Love You, Prima Dolls -

By now you have probably seen where I am participating in a Prima doll Blog Hop starting August 6, 2013. It is going to be so much FUN, I can hardly wait! I have never really loved a special set of stamps like these Prima Doll Stamps from Julie Nutting's designs, and it all goes back to my love of dolls and paper dolls when I was younger.  My dolls were my playmates, and I loved making clothes for them and my paper dolls.

For this tag, I started by covering the Prima Doll Tag with patterned paper from the Botanical Paper Collection from Paper Wishes. The colors in this print are so rich and jewel-like I knew that it would be gorgeous with the Doll in the strapless dress. I stamped the doll on white card stock and colored her with my Copic Markers. After fussy cutting,  I adhered the image to the front of the tag and added a 3-D bow at her waist. I used a rub-on for the message "I love you" on the top right hand corner, and added two strips of printed ribbon across the bottom 2/3 of the card. I also added some "bling" using tiny acrylic stones to the top of the tag, and as accents at her neck and ankles. Next, I stamped a flower using a waterbased marker to ink my stamp then stamped it on watercolor paper.  I used my waterbrush to blend the colors of the flower, cut it out, and added it to my tag between the layers of ribbon. To complete the tag, I added Mermaid Glitz Stickles to the center of the flower, and a strip of ruffled ribbon to the bottom of the tag.

Before I close today, I just wanted to let you know that there will be more information coming on the Prima Doll Blog Hop in the weeks ahead. Be sure to tell your friends about the hop, and invite them to check out the posts, especially if they enjoy dolls, stamping, and paper arts. See you again soon.

Mindy

Happy Father's Day, Dad

Happy Wednesday fellow card makers!  This weekend we will be celebrating Father's Day!  A day to remember dear old Dad, and to tell him how much we love him. Some fathers complain about the socks, tie, or handkerchief they receive as a gift, but I don't know of one Father that doesn't like a nice card whether he would like to admit it or not!

The first card I made, was using bits and pieces left over from previous projects. I have a drawer that has bits of papers, and pictures, and ribbons and trims in it, that are left-overs from various projects throughout the year.  I also have a stack of "4 Bar cards" that are between an A2 quarter size card, and a note card in size.  I hardly ever use them because they are 3 1/2" X 5" and don't fit in the A2 size envelope correctly. Of course, they DO fit, just not like I think they should.

Anyway, I scrounged through my bin, until I found a scrap of printed scrapbook paper that looked rather antique-ish that fit on the front of the "4 Bar card."  I then glued the paper to the front of the card with my gluestick and edged around it with my burnt sienna brown chalk ink pad by ColorBox.  Next I found an old piece of scrapbook paper that had photo images on it that were sepia toned, and looked old. I found one of three children posed by the side of their house, just like a Mother would do before taking a picture. Of course, everyone was in their Sunday best, and hair combed, shoes polished. I trimmed out the picture, inked around it's edges and matched it to two other scraps found in my drawer. After adhering them to the front of my card, I typed out a sentiment on the computer that said "Happy Father's Day, Dad". I added it in banner form and glued three small antique lace flowers on the corner of the picture and added acrylic stones to the centers for a little bling. To finish off the card, and add a final bit of detail to it, I inked a little doo dad stamp from the Dandy Doodads Set from A Stamp in the Hand in rich cocoa Memento ink and dotted it across the front of my card.

The second card, was made with a set of silhouette stamps I have had many years. I don't have any record of where they came from or who made them, but they are still in great condition.  Again, I used one of the "4 Bar cards" and my June Nesting Component Kit from Paper Wings Productions to stamp out a Nature inspired card with weeds, and grasses, and berries using the Rich Cocoa brown Memento ink pad, and Cloud stamp set that came in the June Kit. The stamp set I found also included a flying bird that I stamped in Pear Tart Memento ink, and also used the ink to color a tiny wooden bird that came in the June Kit.  I tied the card with a bit of brown and white twine,(also in the kit) and knotted it at the top of the card. To finish this card, I stamped a phrase that was with the stamp set on a scrap of gingham cardstock and glued my tiny bright green bird to the top of the senitment banner. 

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and don't forget to remember your Father on this upcoming Father's Day.  Even if it's only with a card, that says, "I love you, DAD".

Mindy

Butterfly Happy Birthday!

Good Wednesday morning to my fellow cardmakers!  I had to get busy today and make a birthday card for my birthday buddie, Lisa Knight, who lives in Knox, PA. I have to get the card in the mail pretty soon, because it needs to get there by June 11. Here's what I did to get started!

First I took a sheet of Blu Raspberry card stock from My Favorite Things, and cut the front panel for an A2 size card. I then punched a 3" circle from Banana Split stock from MFT and got out my background stamp "Flowers, Lines, & Dots from Hero Arts Stamps, and inked it up with Cottage Ivy green Memento ink.  I centered my circle of yellow in the middle of the inked stamp then pressed down to transfer the design to the circle.  I then reinked the background stamp and stamped it on the blu raspberry stock. By doing so seperately, I could then position the circle right in the middle of the blu raspberry piece, matching the designs of both to look as if they were stamped at the same time. I then colored in some of the flowers in the design with my White Distressed Marker from Tim Holtz.

In the meantime, I cut two delicate butterfly designs from Rosemary & Thyme 6 X 6 paper pad from Paper Wishes.I used the Sm. Faerie Queen Butterfly Die to cut two butterflies and two background wings from coordinating prints. I then used my Mono Adhesive to glue the layers together, and put them aside to dry. I also punched a single butterfly out of dotted paper, and a banner stamped from the Banneriffic Clear set from Lawn Fawn.  The greeting, "Happy Birthday" was from the Birthday Elephant clear set from Inky Antics.  While all my parts were drying, I was gently placing them on the card base to see where exactly I wanted them.  As I arranged, and rearranged things, I decided that it needed something white amidst all that Blu Raspberry color.  I then decided to cut a border of white from my Nestabilites A2 Distressed Card Creator from Spellbinders. That gave it just the pop of white I needed to break the monotony of the blue.

Now it was time to adhere all the elements. Of course, the yellow circle was centered, so I used double stick tape to attach the white border around the circle. I then glued the butterflies down, just along their bodies with the Mono adhesive.  I then attached the birthday banner across the middle of the circle with foam dots, and added a few acrylic stones to the butterflies and to the background to give it all a little bling!  I left the wings of the butterflies unglued, so they would be able to stand up when the card was removed from the envelope. I then attached the whole unit to a white card base, and it was ready for me to write a personal message to my friend.

I'm glad you stopped by today, to view my most recently made card. I hope you enjoyed the process of how it was done, and was inspired to try some of the elements on a card you will make. Have a wonderful Wednesday, and I will see you again soon.

Mindy

Happy Graduation 2013

Happy Graduation 2013!  School is out, and many students are graduating. Now is the time to complete a few of those graduation cards, so they can be sent out in a timely fashion.

I need to send out several cards this year, so I have been trying out a few designs, both for male and female.  Here I am using the little Pure Inocence clear stamp  from My Favorite Things, titled "Freckles." Since I decided to put her in a black graduation robe, I stamped her out on Neneh white card stock in Tuexdo black Memento ink, and drew a robe shape around her and colored over her stamped clothes with the black Copic marker. For her mortarboard, I stamped it from the Lawn Fawn clear stamp set, "Hats Off to You" and also used the sentiment from that set also.

The card itself, is a black A2 size card base and I used a black and cream damask printed paper from the Teresa Collins 6X6 paper pad- "Noel" for the background. I rolled a strip of the cream card stock into a diploma like shape and  tied a tiny black grosgrain ribbon around it, before adhering it to the background.  For the sentiment tag, I cut a circular scalloped die from a piece of the damask background. It was double sided paper, and the other side was red, with a small design on it. I stamped "happy graduation" on a scrap of the cream stock and cut it from a smaller scalloped die. I added three small adhesive pearls below the wording, and then used foam tape between both layers to pop it up to the level of the rolled diploma.

I will be entering this card in the following challenge:
DL Art- Thankful Thursday-May Linky Party Challenge


I hope you are all having a wonderful week. My schedule is all messed up because of the holiday on Monday. My work week is one day shorter, and I always have to stop and think, "Is today Tuesday or Wednesday?   See you again soon, and keep on stampin!

Mindy

Charming Daisy Filigree

Happy Monday to one and all!

Today's card is a charming Daisy Filigree stamped card, that is also a die cut wonder. Here is how it was done.

1.  Stamped large daisy stamp from Fresh Cut stamp set from Hot Off the Press on Neenah white card stock.

2.  Colored in the daisy with my Copic Markers, shading lightly, then fussy cut around outside petals and set aside to dry.

3. Using my Cuttlebug Die Cutting Machine, I cut a circle of printed paper with the Paper Artist Circle die from Hot Off the Press from their Rosemary and Thyme 6X6 paper pad.

4.  I then cut a little larger scalloped edge circle with the same die set from Hot Off the Press, using Limeade card stock from My Favorite Things.

5.  Then using a sheet of light green stock from Martha Stewart Crafts, I cut the large Filigree Delight background from Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator.

6.  The sentiment block was cut from the Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator set: Distressed Edges. I cut a thin strip from the light green stock and a word block from a sheet of Club Scrap's designer stock in royal blue.

7. From this same blue stock, I cut a square card base 51/2"X 11" and scored it in half, for a top fold card.

8.  To assemble the card I took the card base and adhered the filigree background directly to the base using Tombo Mono Adhesive.

9.  While the base was drying, I assembled the daisy unit. I adhered the daisy to the printed paper with foam adhesive dots, and then used double sided adhesive to adhere the printed paper to the scalloped circle. The entire unit was then anchored to the background with foam tape squares to give it depth and dimension. The sentiment block was attached below the daisy with double sided tape directly to the card stock base.

10.  To add the final touches, a little bling, to the card I added several clear acrylic stones to the center of the daisy, and the four corners of the background. Another gem stone was placed on the sentiment block and three thin lines of Dazzles were added to the sentiment block and card base. The two lower corners of both the background and the card were rounded with the 1/4" Corner Chomper tool.

This card was entered in the Little Scrap Pieces, Fun Friday Challenge- Shape Up.

I hope you enjoyed today's post, and that you will create something that makes you Happy today. Until next time, Have a Great Day!

Mindy

Tea Time Birthday Greetings

Greetings fellow stampers! I hope you are all having a wonderful day. The card for today is celebrating two of my favorite vices, tea time & flowers. Here's how it came together.


I started with a kraft colored card base and added a vintage background paper print. As I was collecting all my components for this card, I found a small piece of embroidered rick-rack whose colors matched my components. I adhered a scrap band of pink and yellow polka dot printed paper to the bottom of the background paper, and then adhered the rick-rack on top of where it came together. I then adhered the entire background to the card front with double sided tape.  I usually forget to pre-plan this last step, and end up just gluing the ribbon on top of the card.  It looks better if you adhere the ribbon or lace first, because that way the ends are adhered underneath and there is no way for them to come loose or ravel out.

I then went about constructing the image embellishment. I had the tea cup with daisies from Inky Antics Stamps, stamped on white card stock with tuxedo black Memento ink and colored with Copic markers. I fussy cut around the stamped image and adhered it to an oval cut from kraft colored stock, and matted with a bright pink stock.(Razzleberry pink from My Favorite Things) The oval unit was cut with my Spellbinders Nestabilities Card Creator Set titled A2 Filigree Delight. I adhered the tea cup to it with foam mounting tape to give it dimension.

To give the card a little bling, I attached beautiful hot pink pearls below the rick-rack  trim, and mini hot pink acrylic stones to the centers of the daisies. The pearls and stones were from an embellishment pack from Prima.  To finish off the card, I stamped the Happy Birthday greeting on the polka dotted paper strip with black Archival Ink. This ink is a heavier ink, and always stamps dark on printed paper.

I hope you are having a wonderful Wednesday, and that you will join me again on Friday with a special post, that has been a long time in the making.  Take care, and see you again soon.

Mindy

Fiesta Time in Texas

Fiesta 2013 is coming to a close this weekend. Scheduled is the Battle of Flowers Parade, and the Fiesta Flambeau Parade, and several other events that are so much fun to attend.

My project for today is a tag, made with the julie Nutting Tag Pad from Prima and one of her Doll stamps; Doll with sleeveless dress. I stamped her on the tag with Tuxedo Black Memento ink and colored her in with my Copic Color Markers. I paper pieced her dress, also colored with Copics, and popped  it up with foam tape so that I could add a colored lace border at the top and bottom of the dress. I also added a Prima rose at her waist, and several sticky pearls on her crown to embellish her attire.

 I cut the letters of Fiesta from various colored card stock with the Folk Art Festival cartridge from Cricut, and backed each with a paper banner cut from the Firefly card stock 6" X 6" paper pad. I then adhered them to the right side of the tag and tied coordinating strips of grosgrain ribbon for bows at each end of the banner, and tied a white bias tape bow at the top of the tag for accent. To finish off the tag, I stamped dots of bright colored ink from my K & Co. Smash Book Ink Wand all over the tag to help it's colors tie in to the festive color scheme of the banner.

I want to thank you for stopping by my blog today.  Be sure to check out the previous post for instructions on how to register for my Blog-aversary Prize Package that will be given away on or about May 12, 2013. I will see you again soon.

Mindy