PaperFections

WSC37 - Spring Thanks

Is Spring really here? I think it's trying . . . we're supposed to be in the 70's today here in Texas and over the weekend -- my kind of weather! I wanted to celebrate with this beautiful bunch of 4 Flower Pots by Karen Lockhart. And check out those darling Itty Bitty Birds in the upper right corner -- aren't they sweet? Beate's Weekend Sketch was inspiration for this card, you can find her challenge details here. The flowers are on Iridescent Cryogen White cardstock, colored with Copic markers to match the patterned paper and accented with Copic Spica Glitter pens: The image was cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Rectangles and popped up on foam tape. The green square of paper was cut with Nestabilities Scalloped Rectangles. Pheobe patterned paper by BasicGrey was trimmed along the scalloped top with decorative scissors, to match the pattern. Card base is Papertrey Ink's Stamper's Select White. My favorite Lockhart sentiment, Thanks A Bunch, finishes off this card. Be sure to check out the blogs of these fabulous stampers to see their take on this week's sketch: Beate, Cambria Turnbow, Charmaine Ikach, Jenn Balcer, Laurie Schmidlin, Lori Craig and MaryJo Albright. I think... Read more →

CPS53 - Ice Cream & Pickles

Ice Cream and Pickles anyone? If so, I hate to be the one telling you this . . . one of these cards just may be in your future, too! I love Karen Lockhart's sense of humor with her style of stamps -- so unique! My 2nd grader's teacher is due in March with her first child, a boy, so I thought I would get ahead of the game (for once!) and have this baby card all ready for her. I used CPS#53 for the layout and BasicGrey's new Two Scoops 6" paper pad -- I thought these colors would be good for a baby boy. The focal image is on my favorite Curious Iridescent Cryogen White shimmer cardstock and was colored with Copic markers. An additional CPS challenge was to use some glitz or glimmer, so I accented the cherry and pickle jar lid with Copic Spica Glitter pens. Here's a closeup for you: I colored around the embossed edge of the Spellbinders Nestabilities Classic Oval with Copic marker #YR31, which gave the image the appearance of being double matted. Then the image was matted with the Classic Scalloped Oval Nestabilities, using more of the BasicGrey paper. The image... Read more →

WSC36 - Hoppy Mail

Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge #36 is today: I generally make cards in landscape format -- don't know why that is other than it's a little more pleasing to my eye and I like that size of canvas. So I flipped this week's sketch and when I did, the element in the lower right of the sketch looked like a postage stamp placement to me, so that's how this card got started! Here's my sample: I knew I wanted this adorable new Lockhart Dottie Bunny to look like was running for the IB Carrots, so that's how this card got stretched out so much -- he wouldn't fit on the card any other way! He is on Curious Iridescent Cryogen White shimmer cardstock, along with the tops from Karen Lockhart's Cottage Flowers stamped in Brilliance Graphite Black. They are colored with Copic Sketch markers, staying within the brown/teal/blue colors of the K & Co. Designer Card (measures 9-1/4" x 3-7/8"). The flowers and carrots are enhanced with Copic Spica Glitter Pens: I enhanced this little scene by cutting a cloud mask from Eclipse Tape and airbrushing Copic Sketch marker #B00-Frost Blue for the sky. The postage stamp was cut with Spellbinders... Read more →

February Dirty Girl Challenge & CPS 52

Each month for the past 3 or 4, the current and past SplitcoastStampers.com Design Team members have been getting together for a little challenge. Some of us were also able to get together a few weeks ago at the Winter Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) show in Anaheim, CA, so I thought I'd share a photo we all took (do you know how hard it is to get 14 ladies to all look at the same camera at one time, when there are about 8 cameras flashing around you?)!! Many thanks to my friend, Lori, who shared this photo with me: L-R Back: Jami Sibley, Natasha Trupp, Jen del Muro, Sherrie Siemens, Trudee Sauer, Jeanne Streiff, Jenn Balcer, Debbie Olson, Linda Duke. L-R Seated: Lisa Johnson, Kittie Caracciolo, Sherry Cheever, Valerie Stangle, Me. Several others were in attendance but had previous commitments that night and/or missed this photo: Ellen Hutson, Anna Wight, Taylor Van Bruggen (hope I didn't forget anyone!). What a fun time we all had! This month's challenge was to use stamps designed/illustrated by fellow Dirty Girls. Some of those include: Lisa Strahl for Cornish Heritage Farms, Melanie Muenchinger for Gina K Designs and AnnaWight for Whipper Snapper.... Read more →

Spellbinders Out-of-the Box Technique & Copic Tips

Here are the instructions for the out-of-the-box technique I created on this card. Start by stamping your image on cardstock, then position the die of your choice over the image (cutting side down). Where you DON'T want the die to cut, slip a piece of the Spellbinders Tan Embossing Mat under the die. Trust me, the die won't cut into that mat -- how cool is that?!! Tape the die & mat in place with scotch tape (preferably removable). I try not to tape into the image area, just in case the tape doesn't remove properly. Then FLIP YOUR IMAGE AND DIE OVER, so the die is now facing up and run thru your Wizard machine, using the normal cutting sandwich. Once cut, gently remove the small piece of Tan Embossing Mat, leaving the die and tape in place. If you don't remove that small piece of tan mat first, this is what you'll get when you try to emboss with the double thickness of mat: Oops!! After removing the small piece of mat, run the piece back thru your Wizard, using the normal embossing sandwich. This is what you'll get, after trimming around the flower portion that was outside... Read more →

Out of the Box Posies Challenge & Stamps for a Cause

While I had those same BasicGrey Gypsy papers out on my desk for yesterday's sketch challenge card, I ran across Tami Mayberry's blog that had a color challenge on it (hosted by Julia Stainton), using just about these same colors, so I thought I'd play along! A few of the Cornish Heritage Farms designers (you'll find their blog links in my left sidebar) that were unable to travel to CHA got together this week and entertained themselves with daily challenges -- how fun! So since I only got to go to CHA for one day, I thought I'd play along, even though I didn't discover these challenges until yesterday! Here were the Prism colors to work with: Another challenge was a sketch hosted by Tami Mayberry and it is shown above. I also knew I wanted to use Gina K's new Stamps for a Cause set (more on that below), so this card came together very quickly (I love those kind since I'm usually a very slow stamper)! Here's the card I came up with: I didn't have those exact colors (yet!), so I substituted Prismatics Intense Orange for the Papaya Puree Dark and Intense Kiwi for the Spring Willow... Read more →

WSC35 - Get Better Socks

I love working with sketches -- half the work is already done for you and it makes it much simpler (and a lot less time!) to create. This is Beate's weekend sketch -- you can give it a try over the weekend and post your creation back to Beate's blog post (she usually draws a winner from the entries and gives away some fun stuff!). Here's the sketch she created for you this week: And here's my sample: I started by stamping the Ellen's Stamp of the Month, Lockhart Warm Socks in Brilliance Graphite Black on Curious Iridescent Cryogen White cardstock and colored the quilted background with Copic Sketch markers #YG13, B32 & YR04. I stamped the image again on a small blue & green patterned paper from BasicGrey's Gypsy collection and cut out the socks. The socks were then layered over the stamped cardstock piece I had colored. Here's a closeup for you: I darkened the toes, heels & tops of the socks with the blue Copic marker mentioned above. The Lockhart sentiment (which it appears Ellen is sold out of at the moment but check back -- these are usually replenished pretty quickly) was partially inked and split... Read more →

CHA Spellbinders Sample: Baby Dress Card

OMGoodness, you don't know how much I was bouncing in my chair when this design came together, as it had been in my head for a while and I love when things work out exactly how I imagined! I created this sample for the Spellbinders booth at Feb '08 CHA-Winter. This sweet little baby dress was created entirely from Spellbinders dies -- the dress from patterned paper, using the largest of the large set of Nestabilities Petite Scalloped Circles. I cut the circle from patterned paper and then trimmed away the V's on each side to create the sleeves of the dress and the shoulders. The neck was cut away by using the new Nestabilities Classic Petite Ovals (smallest of the small set). All edges were inked. A duplicate dress was cut from white shimmer cardstock and positioned slightly off-center underneath the dress, to give the look of a petticoat. The dress is finished by piercing holes in all the scallops, a tiny light green silk bow & flat-backed light pink pearls. It is popped up on the cardfront. The "sweet pea" tag image by Lockhart Stamp Co was stamped on white shimmer cardstock and colored with Copic markers. Here's... Read more →

CHA Spellbinders Sample: Scrapbook Page

This is the 12" x 12" scrapbook page I did for the Spellbinders booth at Feb '08 CHA-Winter. All the flowers were die cut in different cardstock colors, stenciled (while still in the die) with shimmery chalk, and then stacked, mixing the colors: The smaller centers of the flowers are on pop-up Glue Dots. "Alyssa" and the journaling block are also die cuts. Journaling was done on the coated surface of this journaling block with Copic Spica glitter pen: The bracket is also a Spellbinders die -- I cut one from thin chipboard and another from pink cardstock, glued them together and then glittered the pink top. Flower stems are green baby rick-rack. The number 4 indicates my sweet youngest daughter's age in the photo last winter. She loves to wear hats and this fuzzy orange one she picked out totally fits her personality! The photo is 5" x 7" and is matted in orange cardstock. Supplies: Spellbinders dies: Flower Creations 2 & 3, Indulgence Upper Alphabet, Julius Alphabet & Numbers, Brackets, Filing Folders. Paper: Key Lime printed papers (Delightful & Heavenly patterns) & Creative Cards Notecard Journaling block by Fancy Pants, Prismatics solid textured cardstock (Intense Orange, Pink &... Read more →

Day 7 Winner

Random Integer Generator Here are your random numbers: 14 Timestamp: 2008-02-14 03:34:57 UTC WOWZIE congrates on your 1 year ANNIVERSARY .. I have yet to try the copic markers and what a thrill it would be to win .. and Love that stamp set too . Congrates xo Dawn Griffith Posted by: Dawn griffith | February 12, 2008 at 10:56 AM Congratulations, Dawn! I've emailed you for your mailing address. Thanks to everyone who stopped by (and there were a lot of you who stopped by every day) -- I greatly appreciate your support and continued encouragement! I'll be back a little later on Thursday than I thought to post those Spellbinder projects I did for CHA . . . I guess these meds I'm on for the blood clot are zapping my energy by the end of the day, so please bear with me while I adjust. Happy Valentine's Day! Read more →

CHA News: More Spellbinders

When I told you all about the new Xcalibur machine from Spellbinders and said it is "motorized", I failed to let you know that electricity is what will motorize it! Thanks to you all that pointed that out. Here's another view of most of the Spellbinders booth at the show. Demonstrations were going on at the two tables in front -- the left table with the Xcalibur and the right table with the Wizard: I also wanted to share a brand new set of dies with you -- the new Megabilities Rectangles in both Classic & Scallops! The longest dimension on these is about 6.25" and will be available in about 6 weeks. Oh, the possibilities are just flying thru my head -- I can't wait to get my hands on these! And new sets of tags, perfect for smaller sentiments that cardmakers like to use and great for scrapbooking, too (also available in about 6 weeks and designed by our very own Debbie Olson!): I think that's about all of my updates -- just spending one day at the show was certainly not enough time! But I did get to have dinner with some of the Cornish Heritage Farms... Read more →

CHA News: Ranger

What's new with Ranger Industries -- pigment ink in these 18 colors! The rep said there were no immediate plans to add more colors. I loved the display of Tim Holtz's new Crackle Paint -- the vintage clock faces were painted with the different colors of crackle paint! And true to style, drawing a crowd wherever he goes -- Tim Holtz demonstrating: I never got a chance to see what he was demonstrating, because of all the women flocked around him! Check back tomorrow, when I'll be able to post the samples I made for the Spellbinders booth! Read more →

CHA News: Cornish Heritage Farms

Elvis is out of the box (and lying on the show floor at CHA) -- sorry, I couldn't resist!! That's right, Elvis is living at Cornish Heritage Farms, with this brand new CHA release of Elvis-licensed rubber stamps, available only at CHF. Here's the first look at this new line: I love the sentiments -- I'm all shook up!; Love Me Tender; You're the King; Elvis Lives; Thank you, Thank you very much!! The ELVIS one is in tiny light bulbs (hard to see in photo). Wonderful images, aren't they? I'm not sure when these will be available for purchase, but I'll update that information when I find out. Above are samples from Kim Hughes' line of fresh, funky and also elegant stamps. It was a great pleasure to finally meet Kim there in person . . . such a sweet soul! The Rummage Bin is a new line of stamps by CHF designer, Lesley Langdon. I adore her shabby style of eclectic stamps. Here are some more samples using her stamps: Thomas Kinkade display at CHA: Thomas Kinkade samples: More Thomas Kinkade: And here's some additional awesome news from CHF: Can you believe it? You'll be seeing Thomas and... Read more →

CHA News: Spellbinders

Direct from CHA, here's the first view of the Spellbinders new motorized die cutting & embossing machine -- Xcalibur! It's whisper quiet and you'll still have the option of either just die cutting, just embossing, or both, with two different passes thru the machine. And are you ready for this? Drum roll, please . . . the price point will be around $129 (subject to change) and should be available around May this year (summer'ish)!! It will be the machine to go to when you want to craft late at night, in silence (how many of us do that -- I know I do!!), have a lot of projects that need to be cranked out quickly, and easy to operate/no stress on the hands/wrists for those with carpotunnel or if you need to be using your other hand for something else (like feeding the baby or talking on the phone)!! Now the Xcalibur won't replace the current Wizard machine, which is your universal machine that will handle all types of jobs -- smashing bottle caps & setting eyelets, just to name a few. BUT there will be a fantastic change in the Wizard a little later this year, too: A... Read more →

Anniversary Giveaway: Day 7

Here's the 7th and final giveaway in my 1-year blog anniversary celebration . . . how about some Copic markers and My Favorite Things stamps?!! The Copics are Ciao YR04-Chrome Orange, RV06-Cerise, and R29-Lipstick Red. The MFT stamp set is the current mini Set of the Month (February) -- Serenity Now! To be entered in the drawing for this giveaway, just leave a comment directly below in this post (one per person, please). Since I'm later than I wanted to be getting this post up, I'll leave the comments open until 2pm CST tomorrow (Wed) and draw a winner tomorrow afternoon. Good Luck! I'll also try to be back a little later with some photos from my quick trip to CHA (Craft & Hobby Association) this weekend in Anaheim, CA, so check back in! Read more →