I may have mentioned, somewhere along the way, that fall is my favorite time of year. The weather, the smells, the decorations, the clothes... oh how I love a soft, cozy sweater! So when I saw that this week's Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World was this gorgeous Anthropologie sweater, you know I had to play along!
The texture caught my eye right away, and I wanted my card to have a similar appeal. I also wanted to amp up the "autumn" feel, as well as the homemade-chic details. A slight tweak of the colors, the felicitous discovery of the PERFECT sentiment, and here we are - all the things I love about fall in paper form:
I had a light-bulb moment by embossing my cardstock with two different embossing folders - first with a Cuttlebug "Herringbone" folder, followed by Quickutz "Rings." I was really pleased with the way it turned out - I was afraid too much of the detail would get flattened by the second embossing, but it held up pretty well!
The felt leaf was cut using a Cuttlebug 2x2 die, and the window and label were cut with Labels 9 Nesties. I have to say, this has turned out to be one of my favorite fall cards yet!
Card Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts "Everyday Sayings;" Ink: SEI "Cocoa" chalk ink, Stampin' Up "Creamy Caramel;" Accessories: Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug 2x2 Leaf die, Cuttlebug "Herringbone" embossing folder, Quickutz "Rings" embossing folder, Labels 9 Nestabilities, felt, corner rounder punch, button, embroidery floss, foam dimensionals
The days here have turned deliciously chilly, the kind of weather that simply must be accompanied by lots of hot coffee and pumpkin bread. I broke out the can of Libby's pumpkin puree I've been hoarding since my last trip to Hong Kong; oh my, was it ever worth it! (Fun Fact: Over 80% of the world's pumpkin is canned at a factory 10 miles away from my Illinois hometown!)
Continuing with the pumpkin theme, I came up with this fun little trio of cards. The jack'o'lantern stamps are all from last year's Studio G fall release; I combined them with some SEI polka dot stamps and an Ellison tag die to create my own little Halloween tags. Here's a closeup of card #1:
Card 1 Supplies:
Stamps: Studio G (pumpkins, sentiment), SEI "Mimosa" (polka dots); Ink: black pigment, Brilliance Graphite Black, Ranger Tea Dye distress; Paper: My Mind's Eye; Accessories: Cuttlebug, Swirls embossing folder, Ellison Scallop Tags die, corner rounder punch, Dymo labelmaker, foam dimensionals
Card #2:
It's hard to see in this picture, but the black layer under the tag was stamped with small polka dots using black pigment ink. The keyhole shape was created by centering a 2" strip of cardstock inside a circle nestie and cutting.
Card 2 Supplies:
Stamps: Studio G (pumpkin), SEI "Mimosa" (polka dots, small and large); Ink: black pigment, Ranger Tea Dye distress; Paper: My Mind's Eye; Accessories: Cuttlebug, Swirls embossing folder, Ellison Scallop Tags die, Circle Nestabilities, corner rounder punch, foam dimensionals
Card #3:
Card 3 Supplies:
Stamps: Studio G (pumpkin), SEI "Mimosa" (polka dots), Making Memories "Spellbound" (sentiment); Ink: black pigment, Ranger Tea Dye distress; Paper: My Mind's Eye; Accessories: Cuttlebug, Swirls embossing folder, Ellison Scallop Tags die, corner rounder punch, foam dimensionals
Even though I used the same basic supplies for each card, I was able to create three very different looks. So fun!
Whew! I'm a teensy bit tired. I was away Wed-Fri on a spur-of-the-moment solo trip to visit some friends in another part of the country. Seeing them was great, but the travel always wipes me out! My flight home ended up getting delayed almost three hours, made even worse by the fact that we boarded the plane on schedule and then proceeded to sit there for 2 1/2 hours waiting for takeoff clearance. But in the airline's favor, the drink carts came out right away, followed soon after by our meal (Chinese airlines still provide in-flight meals), which made the wait tolerable. Not to mention the fact that my seat-mate and I had the chance to become very well acquainted!
The rest of the weekend was spent in comfy clothes, watching dvd episodes of NCIS, eating taco chowder, and crafting. I'm a pretty slow papercrafter, but I managed to finish two cards plus brainstorm designs for a few more. This particular card all started with the felt leaf, cut with my Cuttlebug. {I've found that when cutting felt with my Cuttlebug, whether with Provocraft dies or Nestabilities, adding a layer of cardstock behind the felt (die, then felt, then cardstock) helps to ensure a clean cut.} After cutting my leaf, I chose a nice fall patterned paper, then used various Nesties to cut my layering pieces. The white circle was a little stark on its own, so I added some stamping and light distressing. The leaf was attached using glue dots, and the circle layers were adhered with foam dimensionals.
Side note: Provocraft offered the same basic leaf dies in a set of four 2x2 dies (one leaf per square) or a set of two 2x6 dies; I opted for the 2x2 dies which leave a nice, even, "negative die" that can be used on other projects. So don't be surprised to see that negative piece showing up soon!
I'm off to set out a few more fall decorations around the house. Have I mentioned this is my favorite time of year?
Card Supplies:
Stamps: Basic Grey "Fauna;" Ink: SEI chalk "cocoa," Ranger "Tea Dye;" Paper: My Mind's Eye, kraft; Accessories: Cuttlebug, Cuttlebug leaves 2x2 dies, Labels 9 Nestabilities, Circle Nestabilities, felt, foam dimensionals, corner rounder punch
So apparently I just took a 3-month hiatus from the ol' blog. Oops! I guess I just needed a bit of a break from all things bloggy/crafty. I finally decided that my desk had been tidy for far too long and pulled out a few stamps. A little music on the ipod, a cold diet coke, and 20 minutes later this little card was sitting on my desk. It feels good to be crafting again!
Card Supplies:
Stamps: Prima Marketing "Cantaria" (small damask flourish), Studio G (sentiment); Ink: Brilliance "Graphite Black," ColorBox pigment "Amber;" Accessories: Corner rounder punch (small), adhesive rhinestones (black, clear), foam dimensionals
I can't believe it's already July! Time is just whizzing by. It's this time of year that Seth and I inevitably feel a smidgen of homesickness, thinking about all the barbecues and fireworks displays and lake parties with friends we'll be missing out on. My mother-in-law makes this to-die-for potato salad that goes perfectly with a nice piece of bbq chicken breast... My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
In honor of this weekend's holiday, I broke out a new mini stamp set from We R Memory Keepers. I stamped the flag once in red, then again in blue, and paper pieced it all together. A toothpick made the perfect flag pole, and some Nesties embossing finished it up nicely (technique described here). It's a very simple design (I didn't even add a sentiment), but I like how it makes the flag pop.
To all my American friends out there, I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend!
Card Supplies:
Stamps: We R Memory Keepers "Old Glory;" Ink: Ink It Up!; Accessories: Cuttlebug, rectangle Nestabilities, toothpick, foam dimensionals
Summer has really hit Shanghai - hot and humid. They're not kidding when they call it one of the "seven furnaces" of China! Surprisingly, we haven't been running our air conditioner all that much, but I'm sure that will change as the summer progresses. Funny story: when Seth went to pay the electric bill the other day, the girl in the office told him (with more than a touch of surprise) that our bill was "like a Chinese person's" - meaning that usually we foreigners have crazy high electric bills in comparison to the general population, due to our constant running of the air conditioner, tv, computer, etc., etc. I told him to just wait till next month, when it's really hot!
I finally got a little crafting time in yesterday. I decided to go for a more eclectic look this time. I'm always drooling over cards that are more "scrappy" in nature - bits and bobs put together to form a look that is multi-dimensional, textural, and colorful, but still with an overall feel of minimalism. So I thought I'd give it a try. Since I don't have any pre-made labels, dimensional stickers, or the like in my stash (crazy, I know), I had to come up with my own embellishments. Thank goodness for my trusty Cuttlebug! The result is still pretty conservative, but for a first try I'm pretty pleased. Definitely a style I want to try again.
Card Supplies:
Stamps: Studio G; Ink: SEI Carcoal, Ranger Antique Linen distress ink; Paper: My Mind's Eye (lime polka dots), Amy Butler (gray/lime floral); Accessories: Cuttlebug, Provocraft circle frame die, Provocraft butterfly die, small corner rounder punch, tag, rhinestones, brad, foam dimensionals
While browsing the internet the other day, I stumbled across MaeMae Paperie's lovely blog. Featuring modern, custom stationery and invitations, the blog is chock-full of gorgeous eye candy. I couldn't help but be inspired by this set in particular (more pics here):
Isn't it fabulous? I kid you not, I gasped when I saw it. Now, I'm not normally much of a purple girl, but this combo of purple and orange looked so fresh, I immediately pulled out some stamps and got to work. Here's my version:
I used my new SEI stamps again - the 2-step flowers were a perfect fit. I didn't have any jewels the right color, so I used two different sharpies to color clear rhinestones. I went with a "congratulations" sentiment in keeping with the wedding theme, but this could really be used for any number of happy occasions. I'm surprised just how much I'm loving these colors together, and I'm sure I'll be using this combo again soon!
Card Supplies:
Stamps: SEI "Mimosa," Anna Griffin "Darcey" (sentiment); Ink: Ink It Up lavender, orange, SEI charcoal; Paper: watercolor paper, American Crafts cs; Accessories: corner rounder punch, foam dimensionals, rhinestones, sharpies
