OLW 37 Sentiments

Yeah!  I've made Simplicity's latest challenge with a day to spare!  The challenge is to create a one layer card using at least 2 and only sentiments.  No stamped images allowed this week!  Embellishments are to be kept to a minimum.

I thought I came up with an original idea, but just now scanning through the thumbnails on Susan's blog I find that several had this same original idea!  Oh well.  Great minds think alike.   I make it a point to not look at the thumbnails on any challenge I participate in so that I am not influenced in any way while coming up with my idea.   After my card(s) is finished, I then like to go back and look at everyone else's "point of view".  I love seeing everyone's interpretation of the challenge. 

I actually came up with two cards, both very similar in design and both for Valentine's Day.  The first uses a Stampin' Up (be mine) paired with a portion of an old Studio G sentiment.

The second card uses a PTI sentiment paired with the same Studio G partial sentiment.  I made a mask out of a sheet of computer paper and a nestibility heart die, and then repeatedly stamped the PTI sentiment over the cut-out heart.

A BIG thank you to Susan and Jennifer for coming up with these wonderful weekly challenges!

Thanks for peeking!

Birthday Buck

Here's a really quick card I made for my nephew's birthday last month.  He is a hunter extraordinaire, always has been, most likely always will.  Found this buck in a pack of dimensional stickers from K & Company and knew it would help  me make the perfect card for him. 

Used a nestie for the 'mount' and sentiment, and some really OLD wood patterned paper for the background.  Added a little twine to make the sentiment more interesting.  And that's it!  Easy, peasy!

Thanks for peeking!

Christmas

Hi everyone!  Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedules to stop by my blog!  I really do appreciate it.

The last month has been pretty hectic, as you can tell from the lack of blog posts.  But, as things are calming down, I hope to post a bit more.  I have many cards from the last few months photographed and waiting, which is good, because the ol' mojo has been on hiatus lately.   Maybe posting will give the boost the mojo needs.

The first card today is the one and only Christmas card I sent this year.  Shame on me.   My mom was the recipient.  See how sparkly the focal image is?  Please take my word for it....it is VERY sparkly!  Well, Colleen and I learned this technique from Polly of Polly's Pals at Stampaway last August and did it together shortly after so we wouldn't forget.   I just checked Polly's website to see if she has the technique posted, but I couldn't find it.  Darn!  We'll just have to rely on my lack of memory.  I used adhesive sheets by Therm-o-web (can get them at Mike's) and the Christmas Tree stencil by Dreamweaver.  Here are the steps if you are interested.

1.  Cut a piece of cardstock and adhesive sheet the same size as the stencil.  Remove one side of the adhesive sheet and apply it to the cardstock.
2.  Remove the second side of the adhesive sheet and apply glitter.   Sorry, I don't remember the type or brand at the moment.
3.  Cover the glittered sheet with a second sheet of cardstock, and, using a brayer,  firmly roll over the second sheet of cardstock to make sure the glitter sticks well to the original adhesive/cardstock.  Remove 2nd sheet of cardstock.
4.  Place the tree stencil on top of the glittered cardstock and hold it in place with removable scotch tape.
5.  Using pigment ink and a stencil brush, apply the ink to the stencil as desired.
6.  Remove stencil and cut image to desired size.

The really neat thing about this, is the glitter totally sticks to the adhesive and doesn't come off!  Not on your hands, or your stencil brushes.  Totally clean!  My kind of glitter.

The second card is a thank you I mass produced for Christmas gifts John and I received this year.  Pretty simple...used up some of my most favorite holly paper from Basic Grey, the stamp is from Stampendous and used my Nesties circle and dahlia dies.   Colored with copics, including the spicas for a little shine that you can't see very well in the picture.

That's all for today!  Thanks for peeking!

OLW 33 Home Decor

I should be working, working, working.  Instead, I am playing, playing, playing.  Hmmmmmmmmm.....

A quick one here:   New challenge today over at Simplicity's blog.  One layer card using home decor as our inspiration.   Have had these Unity stamps for a while now and figured today is as good a day as any to put them to use.   Colored with Copics....nothing fancy...just quickly colored and added a simple black line to ground the floating lamps.

Thanks for peeking!

OLW 32: Ages and Ages

Two weeks in a row.  I'm back at it.  I think.  Maybe.  We'll see.

During my hiatus of doing the one-layer Wednesday challenges change occurred.  Life became a bit hectic for Susan over at her Simplicity blog to continue posting the challenges on a weekly basis.  Then Jennifer Styles of Styles Ink came along to save the day.....she and Susan now alternate Wednesdays in hosting the OLW challenges.  

It's Jennifer's Wednesday this week and she came up with the theme of Ages and Ages.  We need to make a one layer "age" card.   Perfect!  I was lacking an idea for my last birthday card of the month which was for my brother in law.  After rumaging around, I came up with this:

I really liked the dry embossing around last weeks image in the OLW 31 challenge, so I decided to do it again!  I like how this turned out.   Image is from Inkadinkadoo and the sentiment is from Impress Rubber Stamps.  Love that sentiment....I usually use it on the insides of birthday cards, but it worked really well for this particular challenge.

Thanks for peeking!

OLW 31: Back to the Beginning

Yeah!   I FINALLY got to do another challenge!  And a really, really simple one at that!
The One Layer Wednesday challenges over at Simplicity's blog finds this past week's mission to go back to our roots.  How did we start stamping/card making????   Inquiring minds want to know.

Years before I started scrapbooking which eventually worked its way into addictive, smaller, quicker gratifications known as cards, one of my sister's-in-law showed me how she made quick and simple cards by heat embossing every stamped image in gold embossing powder.   I was mildly interested and quickly dismissed it.  I worked long hours and barely had enough time to make meals, do laundry, spend time with my husband and once in awhile clean the house.   But, when I finally had the time to venture into card making, I remembered the gold embossing technique and that's what I started with.  Ooooooh!  The magic!

Here's my very simple, gold embossed card, along with a modern twist....an added dry embossed frame around the sentiment made with my long rectangle nesties.

Simple, eh?
The sentiment is from Penny Black and that sparkly gold embossing powder is by Judikins...twinkle gold, I  believe.  LOVE that stuff.  So glittery, without the need to use glitter!  I also used 110 lb. Classic Crest natural white cardstock....its heavy weight and thickness gives such a nice and distinct embossing from the nesties without cutting through the cardstock.  Yum!

Thanks for peeking!

Ok, Colleen.....

....here ya go!
The card you've been requesting I post on my blog.
The card that was inspired by YOUR card.  Thanks for the inspiration! :-)

What a quick and simple card!  Cardstock is PTI Simply Chartreuse with a Cosmo Cricket overlay of dots from Garden Variety (LOVE those dots....must get more!).  Created the big scallops with a border punch from EK Success.   Balloons are from scraps using the Martha Stewart balloon punch with some crochet thread from my stash.   Just popped up and added "strings" to the bottom three for dimension.  Sentiment is from Hampton Art that I just recently found at Michael's.

Thanks for peeking!