Made by *B*

Today I used a Lang Calendar (you can see it here http://www.lang.com/product/1001239) as an inspiration for my card in keeping with the SCS Inspiration challenge. I saw the butterfly with the swirls and though of my new embossing plate for the Big Shot, and also the new butterfly die for the Big Shot to make cutting out these butterflies in a snap!

The swirl panel is Very Vanilla with the swirly texture plate run through the Big Shot. I used a brayer to give it an overall coating on color and highlight the raised image and then used daubers to add some shading. The 6 butterflies (3 in Basic Black, 3 from the Office designer series paper) were cut out using the Butterflies die cut and my Big Shot. There are 4 butterflies on the die itself, I used the smallest repeatedly for this card.

I used daubers to add the black edging on the butterflies and added Celery ink as well to get some shading. The black edge is NOT cardstock-I used my Stampin’ Write marker and a ruler to create edges on both the dry embossed panel and around the saying (which is from Fifth Avenue Floral). Love the look it gave!!!

The dry embossed panel is raised up with dimensionals and layered onto SU’s gold shimmer paper, and then layered again on Choc. Chip.

Yeah!!! Some new goodies from Stampin’ Up! arrived at my house today and between getting a toddler down for a nap and starting playdate for my kiddo I got this card done. WOOHOO!

This card uses the new designer paper Parisian Breeze-it is a great thick textured cardstock in shades and patterns of Baja Breeze and Chocolate. I ran it through my Big Shot with a new texture plate to get the cool filigree design on it, and then used my sander to highlight the texture so it stands out more-looks great and it was quick to do!!!

The flower is the big blossom from Fifth Avenue Floral-how gorgeous is that? I stamped it in black craft ink and embossed it in clear to add a touch of shine. The black organdy ribbon is retired SU ribbon and I also added a few black eyelets along the side just to add a smidge of black to the side.

Keep checking back-I will be posting more items made with my new goodies!!!

or Today’s challenge was to use black as a base for a card and have a large amount of black in a card. No problem! I copied a card I had done earlier that was a 3×6 card and used apricot and celery circles. Today I used red circles just because I have been in a red mood lately!

The card base is black, and then I cut a smaller mat (3 3/4 x 5″ ) from my scrap stash for the second layer. I punched out a bunch of red circles from a piece of Real Red paper and layered them on and trimmed off the excess. The main “enjoy” is stamped in Real Red craft ink and embossed in clear.  I added a small paper clip with striped red ribbon in the corner for some texture.

 Super easy! I left the “enjoy” as the only sentiment so I can personalize it better when the right occasion arises.

Todays’ Ways to Use It challenge on SCS was to take patterned paper and change or embellish it in some way. I opted to use retired Au Chocolat paper as the main panel. The paper came in patterns of vanilla and chocolate. I brayered over it with Regal Rose to change the shade completely. Then I used my SU white gel pen to add dots to the pattern.

The vertical stripe was Bella Rose paper. I used Crystal Effects and red SU glitter to add little dots of sparkle to some of the centers of the flowers-just a hint of bling! The phrase itself is from te SU! set Full of Life-I stamped it in Ruby Red and used a choclotae chip marker to add some emphasis to the word “happy. I realized I needed something else so I lightly stamped the blossoms from Embrace Life around the phrase itself in Regal Rose.

The edges were cut using the ticket corner punch, and then they were layered onto Choc. Chip and then Red Riding Hood paper.

QTFM: save your patterned paper! Like many of teh cards I have been making lately, this one was made using leftovers from other projects. I have a box on my desk with file folders for each color family, and also patterned papers. When I have extras I tuck them in there and am trying to always use those 1st rather than always cutting into a new piece.

The new Stampin’ Up! catalog is here and it is awesome. ESPECIALLY for folks like me (and many of you) who love to get new papers and embellishments!!

To see it go to my SU! site http://www.stampinup.net/esuite/home/brittastamps/

and click on “Shop Now”

 If you want to get a hardcopy, please e-mail me directly at brittastamps@yahoo.com

 The other exciting news is that Sale-A-Bration is JUST around the corner! My February usually gets booked up quickly, so contact me at the above e-mail addres to book your show!

In my head, this was going to be a breeze. I knew I wanted to use some of the flowers from the Pretties kit, but when I layered on 3 silk flowers, the colors seemed blah. So I removed the middle silk flower (that I had colored in Cameo Coral) and added a scallop punch that I slit cut into for a deeper color in the center. The small flower in the center I decided to color in with Summer Sun to add some POP to the darker shades. I added a small crystal from the Pretties kit tp add a bit of shine, and daubered the center stamen (is that what it is called?) with Coral.

I guess because I had not used my Burgundy in a while I was itching to use it again. The thin vertical panel is stamped with the imaghe from Fresh Cuts in Ruby Red and daubered with Burgundy (my daubers are getting quite a workout lately!). The bg main panel is stamped with the flower from Embrace Life 1st in Rubt Red, and then I stamped over the images again in Burgundy. The small “for you” is from Fresh Cuts and layered into a piece of hardware from the Hodge Podge kits I have (since I am in my “no hoarding” kick!)

I left the bg piece plain since there was so much going on in the stamped panels. Tanks for looking!

Today’s color challenge on SCS was to combine Kiwi Kiss, Regal Rose, and Bravo Burgundy. I opted to use Stitched Exotics-I love the bold flowers and the solid and dotted images. I also was happy to use pieces I had already cut. The rose base and main image panel were left from my workshops last week where I did the chocolate and rose embossed resist card (scroll down to see that one). I had vellum on my stamp desk, and the vertical scraps were from paper that had been trimmed down for layers.

The main image is a vanilla piece stamped with a solid leaf from Stitched Exotics in Kiwi Kiss ink. Then I layered on a piece of vellum and overstamped in the stitched leaf from the same set. The flowers are stamped in Rose ink and then I used markers and daubers to add shading. The pearls in the center are from the “Pretties” kit-one of my New Year’s Resolutions is to hoard less-so you will probably be seeing more hardware and floral accents on my cards!

The background piece is rose that I daubered around in burgundy to give it definition. I stamped the swirls and smaller flowers in Rose and Burgundy as well to add some subtle color and texture. The “for you” is stamped in Burgundy on the vellum since it is generic enough I can use it later on for a thank you, b-day, or just a note for someone special!

can you see the trend? My time to stamp is limited, but I still have been enjoying making cards that don’t look like they were done in just a few minutes! This card along with the embossed resist card of a few days ago were cards done during my stamp clubs this month, along with a Top Note box i will share later this week.

For this card I again used the Love You Much bundle. Because I like to cut without a lot of waste, the designer paper used was cut into 4×4″ squares-that way I get 9 out of 1 sheet of cardstock. To keep the lines clean, I cut the red paper into 4″ x 11″ (rather than 4 1/4″ x 11″ which would be exactly half and what I usually do) so that I would not have an extra layer around the DSP.

The hearts are punched from scraps I had and I punched them into an older eyelet container for easy storage. The only stamped element on this card is the heart which I stamped in Choc. Chip onto Pink Pirouette paper, and sponged with Red Riding Hood ink. I used my Tombow glue to create a line of glue along the edge of the DSP and layered my hearts right on rather than using glue on each one, and then added the big heart. After scalloping the bottom edge I added dots with my white gel pen onto the scalloped edge as well as the pink heart.

QTFM: if you are going to scallop the bottom edge, do so before you fold so the card will stand up better when you are done with it.

Both of these cards were made in the time it takes Stephanie to sing the “Bing Bang” song on LazyTown (for those of you with preschoolers you will understand!)

Today’s challenge was to make “non-cheesy” Valentine’s. They were to be “postcard” styled (no fold) and minimal layers or deatil work-something that you could recreate for a childrens’ Valentine’s cards. I was so happy to come up with these 2 and I think Cam and I will be making these for his classmates this long weekend!

The 1st one is for the boys in his class and made using the set “Bugs and Kisses.” I use this set A LOT for kids cards and projects, and this little pillbug is my favorite! I stamped him 3 times in Real Red, and then stamped 3 “X’s for the kisses. I added creepy crawly candy I had in my stamp room for the candy touch (because kids LOVE cards with candy!)

The next card is for the girls in Cam’s class. I used the 3 heart punch from the Love You Much bundle to create the hearts and then daubered around the punched out edges. I used packing tape and Dazzling Diamonds glitter for the punch, and added a bit of red grosgrain along the side. The candy on this card ia Peppermint Patty with a scallop punch on top.

QTFM: These cards a smaller size than traditional cardfronts. The white layer is cut 3 1/4″ x 4″, and the red layer is 3 /12″ x 4 1/4″. I can get 6 of these layers from an 8 1/2 x 11″ sheet of cardstock!

a Happy Heart! I LOVE this saying and am so happy this set (A Happy Heart) made the new catalog.

I made this card for a swap from Jami-who runs the bestest swaps! In this round we had to make Valentine’s and use a specific set of colors. I used the Ski Slope designer paper for the patchwork background, and stamped the dandelion in real red, and then highlighted the little hearts with glitter.

The 2nd card was made using the Love You Much bundle (still on sale for 20% off this month!). I used Red Riding Hood as the base, and scalloped the bottom edge (I *LOVE* that punch and seem to use it A LOT!!!) A strip of Pink Pirouette along the top with a strip from the Candy Lane designer paper as well.

The “Love you much” was colored in with Saffron and Rose markers, and dotted with Ruby Red, then covered in Dazzling Diamonds glitter, as was the little heart flower. The heart image itself was stamped twice-once on designer paper and then layered over with vellum with spots from the white gel pen for some highlights.

QTFM: when coloring in thin lines, hold your marker brush tip up so that the tip *barely* touches your image. It makes it easier to stay inside the lines if you have a very light hand with the bruch tip rather than pressing hard with the thinner tip