Our Red-Lovin' Diva, Anne!

I made this butterfly-themed tote bag as a case and in honor of my friend, Anne (aka jdmommy on Splitcoaststampers), who was chosen as this week's Queen for the Day!  Anne LOVES red and really cranks out some beautiful creations with her signature color.  I wanted to make a card using her beloved red, but ended up falling in love with her beautiful Mother's Day Tote she made and knew instantly that I wanted to case it to make one for my mother.  Since my mama loves butterflies, I chose to these softer colors of Marina Mist and Very Vanilla with Soft Suede as the contrasting accent color.

The large butterfly image is from Rubbernecker's Butterflie are Free set.  I stamped the butterfly in Marina Mist.  The two smaller butterflies are from a ProvoCraft die.  I added champagne-colored pearls to all of their bodies.

I didn't have any tissue in a color that I wanted for this tote, so I crimped and cut one-eighth strips of Very Vanilla cardstock from my scraps.

You can find the tutorial for this tote on Splitcoaststampers here.  I like that Beate always does a video tutorial, in addition to the written tutorial, since I am more of a visual learner.

CONGRATULATIONS, Anne, and thank you for the magnificent inspiration!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you'll be able to stop by the next three days to see some Rubbernecker new releases the design team will be previewing on Sunday and Monday with a bang-up blog hop on Tuesday, May 3.

Butterfly, Butterfly

Butterfly, butterfly
whose got the butterfly?

Can you find the butterfly in the card below?

(maybe if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you might see the butterfly--heh-heh)

Cindy Haffner has challenged the CCEE Stampers, and she challenges you to join us, in making a card/project with a butterfly(ies) on it.  Have you found mine yet?  No?  Well, if you pull out your magnifying glass, you just may see that small orange winged creature on the spout of the teapot. 

This cute digi image was designed by Leigh Grady to be used with this week's Teapot Tuesday challenge.  I wasn't able to play on Tuesday and just had the chance to do some stamping late last night, but da Mudder doesn't mind if we come to the tea party late.  I colored the image with Copic markers.

The sketch design is this week's Mojo sketch.  The gingham ruffled ribbon is from May Arts.  And before you go thinking I sewed on my octagon Nestability, I don't even own a sewing machine; therefore, this is faux stitching done with a paper piercer and fine tip black marker.

Why not visit our CCEE Stampers blog and see the beautiful designs my friends, Shirley, Frances, Cindy, Tosha, and Joanne made.  Maybe you'll even think about playing along with us!

Petals in the Die

Sorry I haven't been around much.  It seems like I'm always multi-tasking and the time goes by much faster than I'd like it to some days.  I hope everyone had a pleasant Easter celebration.  We enjoyed time with family.  My sweet, adorable, precious great-niece Zoe (pictured with me in my avatar) is now three.  She has more energy than any other child I know of!   She is at such a fun age, and I enjoyed watching her look for eggs on her Easter egg hunt.  She was so funny.  Every time she'd find an egg, she'd squeal with delight and then throw it in her basket.  You could hear the eggshells cracking!!  OMG!  We were all laughing so hard!

Now, onto the stamping business at hand.....My friend, Joan (or Joanie as I like to call her), on Splitcoaststampers, is the hostess this week for the Technique challenge.  She gave us the challenge to "stamp in the die."  Here's how Joanie described the technique:

"All you have to do is stamp your image using a background stamp or any other large image that will cover the whole die so the unstamped edge under the die creates the frame. ....easy peasy!!!



1. Cut out your layer with a die...Nestabilities were used for my sample.
2. Leave the cardstock in the die and stamp the image covering the whole die. Press fairly hard so all the paper is covered with ink.
3. Remove the paper from the die...be careful because the ink on the die will be wet. If you try to clean the ink off the die before removing the paper, it may smudge the paper (I know this from experience...LOL!!)
4. Tadaa...instant frame around the die cut!!"

I pulled out some long-neglected, but still loved, Stampin' Up stamps for my design today.  I used Petal Prints and French Script background.

I used the fancy tags die cut in kraft cs first and stamped both the French Script and Petal Prints flower while still in that die. I then cut another fancy tag out of night of navy and trimmed off the ends and a little of both sides of the kraft cardstock so I could have the navy matting.

After I stamped the Petal Prints flower, I heat set it with clear embossing powder for a richer color than how it stamped on the cardstock.

Well, it's back to the multi-tasking since the dryer is buzzing and the clothes are begging to be folded.  Oh the drudgery of laundry!  LOL!

Have a fabulous day and thanks for stopping by!

Pleating

Welcome to another post for our weekly CCEE Stampers challenge!  This week, Cindy Haffner challenged us to use pleated paper or ribbon.  

I pleated this pretty shimmery plum cardstock by scoring it at 1/4" intervals and then folding it.  I applied a 1/8" strip of Scor-Tape to the center of the pleated panel and then applied by black and white gingham ribbon to it.

Here's a close up view of my tulips.  This is actually an individual stamp of one tulip by Rubbernecker.  I masked and stamped it five times for my bouquet.  I watercolored the tulips with Perfect Plum reinker.  I accented the darker center with Purple Smooch Accent Ink.  I also applied touches of purple and green metallic art penciling.  Leaving my cardstock in the oval Nestability die, I sponged Barely Banana around the tulips.  I topped it off by adding a few spritzes of shimmer spray and then added these lovely lavender pearls.

I applied the oval image to another piece of this beautiful shimmery plum cardstock using my Topnote die.  I popped this up on thick dimensionals.

Please be sure to stop by our CCEE Stampers blog and see the exquisite creations of my team mates Frances, Tosha, Shirley, Cindy, and Joanne.

Have a fabulous day!

Stamps: Easter Tulips (#31-10)

Cardstock: Perfect Plum, Whisper White, Shimmery Plum
Ink: Memento Black, Barely Banana, Perfect Plum, Old Olive
Accessories: watercolor brush, oval Nestabilities, Topnote die, embossing folder, black gingham ribbon, lavender pearls, dimensional, Bow Easy, Scor-Tape, Purple Smooch Accent Ink, metallic art pencils

Cool Beans

I made this card in honor of Coffeestamper, aka Sue, on Splitcoaststampers as she was chosen the featured stamper this week.  I cased her cute Bugaboo Perk Up card.  I made the required two or three changes and used the sketch design from this week's Stamp TV sketch challenge.

Stamps: Cuppa Joe (Gina K)

Paper: Bravo Burgundy, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, dp
Ink: Memento Black
Accessories: Copic markers, Bravo Burgundy marker, large polkadot embossing folder, oval Nestabilities, circle punches, zig zag border punch, dimensionals
Techniques: paper piecing

Make Mine Pink and Black

I love pink and black together and was thrilled that Cindy Haffner, our CCEE Stampers challenge hostess for April, chose this combination for our color challenge this week!

(click on the photo for a larger view)

I colored the sundae image (by DeNami Design) with Copic markers.  I then dotted the glass with black fine tip marker and covered with Crystal Effects.  For the ice cream, I added a little Icicle Stickles.  The cherry on top is a small Basic Gray Eva button.

I created my own designer paper using my MFT Die-namics flower.  I cut the flowers out of Pretty in Pink and the leaves out of Certainly Celery.  I added 1/4" circle black dots to the center and then added small white circles from my double circle punch to the very center.  I glued these to black cardstock and added white dotting with a Signo Gel Pen.  I then ran this piece through my Big Shot using the Square Lattice embossing folder.  This technique is referred to as Embedded Embossing.  The Square Lattice embossing folder works exceptionally well for this technique as it presses the flowers into the black cardstock.

Other supplies I used are oval Nestabilities, 1/8" thick dimensionals for my oval panel, pink and white striped ribbon, and pink flirty ribbon.

Why not play along with us by pulling out your pink and black and showing us what you've got?  Check out the details for playing, as well as seeing Joanne's, Tosha's, Cindy's, Shirley's, and Frances's designs, on our CCEE Stampers blog!

Thanks for swinging by!  I love your visits and appreciate your comments!

Hoppy Hoppy Easter!

(click on photo for larger view)

We're seeing the first signs of Spring in Michigan....finally!   The sun is shining, the grass is getting greener, and the robins are appearing!  Therefore, I was in the mood for bright, happy, Spring colors for my design today.  I used the sketch design from today's challenge on Splitcoaststampers and this cute bunny caught in the carrot garden by Rubbernecker.

Have a hoppy day!

Stamps: Everything Coming Up Carrots (SKU #84-11) and Hoppy Hoppy Easter petite text (SKU #14-0910) by Rubbernecker

Paper: Pink Passion, Whisper White, Green Galore dp
Ink: Memento Black, Pink Passion, Green Galore, Bashful Blue
Accessories: Copic markers, 1" and 1 1/4" circle punch, MFT scallop border Die-namic, floral border punch, large polkadots embossing folder, cloud template, green galore brads, Prima flowers, 1/4" circle punch