Mojo Monday with Sneak Peek

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This card was inspired by the sketch challenge at Mojo Monday. It's so fun to start with great inspiration like this sketch. I used every stamp in the new level 2 hostess set, Asian Artistry, except the dragonfly. This images are so lovely and so fun to work with.

(All supplies from Stampin' Up!) I started with whisper white cs, stamped the grassy image in creamy carmel, then inked the bird on the branch in Old Olive, Ruby Red and Close to Carmel markers and stamped over the previous image. I used the aqua painter to pull the color from the outline of the bird to color it in a little. I punched a 1" hole out of a scrap piece of paper and sponged the sun in the upper left corner with summer sun. I used the spritzer tool to spritz the image with chocolate chip, then sponged the edges first with Ruby Red, then Chocolate Chip.

This was layered on Chocolate Chip cs with the bottom edge scallop punched. The Ruby Red layer was stamped with the floral image in Ruby Red and Chocolate Chip. The base of the card is Chocolate Chip with a layer of So Saffron pattern paper. The ribbon is from Ribbon Originals Dress Up. The brads were layered on 1/4" Ruby Red circles.

I selected a phrase from the sentiment that comes with this set and inked it with Chocolate Chip. The background was stamped with Ruby Red, 3rd generation. Hint: 3rd generation means that I inked the stamp and stamped it twice on scrap paper before stamping on my project. Then it was sponged with Chocolate Chip.

The edges of the Designer Label in Ruby Red cs and the Wide Oval in Chocolate Chip cs were sponged with Chocolate Chip. Finally vintage brads were added to the top and bottom of the layered tag and the tag was attached to the card with dimensionals. Here is a close up of the tag.

Hope you like it.

Enjoy!

Julie
Click here to order Stampin' Up! products.

Pocket Thanks

This is my second sample for the clean and simple "Make It Sparkle" challenge over at splitcoaststampers.com. I notice that a lot of stampers add lots of embellishments, colors and layers to their clean and simple cards, but I really like to keep them truly clean and simple. I used the same colors as the last one, a similar but smaller image and changed up the layout.

The image is from Pocket Silhouettes. I inked up the silhouette with versamark and then Melon Mambo. I then embossed with iridescent ice ep. I stamped the image three times in a bouquet. HINT: Emboss after each stamp of the image. Clean the stamp, ink, stamp the image and emboss again. If you wait to emboss after you have stamped the whole picture your ink may not be wet enough to hold the ep for good coverage.

The center circle is punched with a 2 1/2" punch and the card dimensions are 4" x 4 1/2". Very clean, very simple!!!

Enjoy,

Julie Cluff

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Clean and Simple 21!

Here's a sneak peek at a new hostess set, Kind & Caring Thoughts, with a new in-color Melon Mambo. The Clean and Simple challenge was to use sparkle, so I inked up with versamark and Melon Mambo and embossed with iridescent ice ep. Then I stamped the sentiment, tied the knot and attached it to a 3" x 6" card. That's it - clean and simple.

The new catalog starts this Wednesday! Of course, that means if there is something you want from this past year's catalog, you better act quick!

Enjoy!

Julie
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Watercolor Rose

This beautiful rose is from Fifth Avenue Florals. I used the "reinker spread technique", but I wish I had watched this tutorial BEFORE I made this flower. It's a simple technique with fantastic results.

I used watercolor paper which in retrospect was probably not the best choice. Shimmering White cs would have been better. I stamped the rose in versamark and embossed with clear ep. Then I wet the paper with a large paint brush. Again a small spray bottle would have been a better choice. Then I used an aquapainter to touch the paper with reinkers and let the color spread on the wet paper.

Recipe:
All Stampin' Up! products
stamps: Fifth Avenue Florals, Fine Lace bg
paper: Lavendar Lace cs, Pink Pirouette (retiring 6/30/09), Whisper White cs, watercolor paper ink: Lavendar Lace, Pink Pirouette (retiring 6/30/09), Rose Red, versamark
accessories: Pink Pirouette ribbon (retiring 6/30/09), scallop punch, paper piercer, dimensionals

Flock of Birds

These fun little "Zoofari" birds are retiring at the end of the month! Don't miss your chance to get this adorable set. This is almost an exact replica of the sample in the Idea Book and Catalog. You really don't have to be a creative genius to enjoy creating attractive cards that your friends and family will love! Find something you like and make it your own. The Stampin' Up! Idea Book and Catalog is great for that.

It's a simple card stamped in black and watercolored with reinkers - So Safron, Bordering Blue and Pink Pirouette. The base of the card is the lovely Pink Pirouette that is retiring at the end of the month. The sentiment is from Sincere Salutations. Hint: You can just use part of a sentiment by inking only the word or phrase you want to stamp with a SU marker.

Enjoy!
Julie

This card measures 6 1/2" by 3 1/4" and fits the Open-End Envelopes (#107286). The birds are stamped on the envelope in Bordering Blue.

I Did It! Verve Challenge

Busy, busy day today! I just returned from another heartbreak tennis match. I normally play doubles, but today was my first EVER competitive singles match, and I am no spring chicken. (See picture of grandbaby here!) And I lost in the 3rd set tie breaker. It looked like this: 1st set 6-3, 2nd set 3-6, third set tie breaker 6-10. UGH! It's only 100 degrees here in Houston - all that sweating for nothing!!! I thought some of your tennis fans might appreciate this tidbit.

I just finished the last of the Verve Release Challenge! Later I'll post a picture of the 5 cards I made from their 5 sketches. It's so fun trying new things!

(All supplies from Stampin' Up!) I stamped the Upsy Daisy in black craft ink and embossed with Iridescent Ice. I love that stuff, if you haven't noticed yet. Too bad it doesn't photograph well, but, then again, it could be the photographer... I Then I cut it out using the coluzzle cutter. Finally I brayered the top with Baja Breeze and the bottom with Kiwi Kiss and sponged the edges with black.

Then I cut 2 circles a size bigger in Black and Kiwi Kiss. I removed the guard from my corner rounder and scallop the edge of the Kiwi Kiss circle and layered it all up. I'll have to do a little tutorial on that later, but not today as I have 18 women coming over tomorrow night for a stamp camp! Yikes! I've got to get ready....

The base is Black and white layers with angle cut Urban Garden paper on top. The ribbon is tied around the white cs and pattern paper layer. Then I added designer hardware and buttons to the bottom corner. Because the base is black I added a layer of white and the pattern paper inside with a circle of the embossed flowers to the left of the sentiment. Here's a close up of the inside:

It was fun playing along with these challenges.

Enjoy!

Julie

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Stampin' Up!'s Upsy Daisy, #111710, $18.95

God's Beauty - Butterfly

Another challenge from Splitcoaststampers.com. I was working on another project when I stumbled upon the idea and inspiration for this card. Hope you like it!

As always, all the supplies I used are from Stampin' Up! The center piece is stamped with the images from God's Beauty. I used an aquapainter and reinkers to add color. Hint: I add a little extra water to my brush to get a good mix on my reinkers, then I test the color on a scrap of paper to test. Remember, you can always go darker but it's almost impossible to go lighter.

The flowers are Blush Blossom, Summer Sun and Cameo Coral. The leaves are Mellow Moss and Old Olive. And the butterfly is Brocade Blue and Summer Sun. I overlapped the blue and yellow on the butterfly wings so it graduates with mixed green in the middle. I hoped you could see it in this close up of the popped up butterfly, but it looks better in real life.

The main image was layered on Cameo Coral and then black cs. The Summer Sun panels are from the Pink Flamingo designer paper pack and layered on black cs. The center piece is also popped up with dimensionals. The base of the card is Blush Blossom layered on Black cs. The sentiment was stamped in the bottom right corner and the black gingham ribbon was added.

I was tempted to sponge the edges on this one but I'm very happy with the clean look.

Enjoy!

Julie

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Pink Flamingo Designer Series Paper, $9.95, #113976

Lovey Dovey Color Inspiration #55

This card is serving double duty. The colors are from Color Inspiration #55. And my only question is where can I find those CUTE shoes! Aren't those smart looking??? And the layout is from Verve's Challenge VSJUN05. These great colors remind me of a card I made with SU's Wanted stamp set, but I decided to do something a little different than what I normally would with this color selection.

The little Lovey Dovey heart has been sitting on my desk for some time and needed a home. It's stamped in black and embossed with Iridescent Ice ep, then punched with the SU heart punch. I originally stamped this on Vanilla cardstock but sponged it with More Mustard to match this card.

The Basic Gray pattern paper is from Urban Garden and the rest is stamped. I stamped the Baroque Motif swirl on the main image with More Mustard, then added the Really Rust flowers. I used the Motif swirl again on the More Mustard background paper with Vanilla craft ink. The Really Rust background cs is stamped with versamark. Here's a close up:

The scallop layer is sponged first with More Mustard, then Really Rust and finally Basic Gray. The scallop edge is paper pierced and then this piece was layered on Really Rust and Black cs, after which I wrapped it in the gray taffeta ribbon.

I added silver brads to the Basic gray pieces and finally adhered the heart to the front with dimensionals. I think my favorite part is the vanilla swirl on the mustard card stock. I just love that swirl.... The base of the card is Basic Black cs. Hint: When you have a dark card base, either use a white gel pen to add your note or adhere a matching light cs to the inside for writing your message.

Enjoy!

Julie

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Baroque Motifs, #113490, $27.95

Elegant Cherish

I love the look of this in real life. But tone on tone is so hard to photograph. And you cannot possibly see all the shimmer and shine on this card in the picture. The inspiration for this card came from three places - the stamp, the paper and the Verve Sketch.

I started with this shimmering paper from SU's Taste of Textile pack and decided on my color scheme. This paper is just gorgeous! And it's on sale 25% off until the end of the month while supplies last. The picture is below but it does not do this paper justice.

I stamped the Cherish from Illuminations (retiring at the end of the month) on Whisper White in Sahara Sand and embossed it with Iridescent Ice embossing powder. Hint: By inking the stamp first with versamark and then the classic ink color, your ink will stay wet long enough for your embossing powder to adhere and heat.

After embossing 'Cherish' I stamped over it in white craft with the French Script background stamp and embossed that with clear embossing powder. It really adds some great texture. The main image and the textile paper were layered on Sahara Sand. The Pretties Kit flowers, beads and pearls were added and voila!

This is such a beautiful stamp set! We used this one for my daughter's wedding thank yous. I stamped and embossed 'Thanks' in silver on the front of SU's 5" x 3 1/2" note cards that comes with envelopes. It was easy, easy and they looked great too.

Enjoy!

Julie

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Illuminations, #114990, $30.95, retiring at the end of the month!

Now Only $7.46, Taste of Textile Specialty Paper, #113991, on sale 25% off, now until the end of the month or while supplies last. (These wonderful papers provide a textile feel and add subtle dimension to your paper crafting. 12x12 sheets: 2 ea. of 5 paper types, total of 10 sheets. 105 # Cover Bronze Metallic, 80 # Coated White Pin Stripe, 80 #Cover Black Linen Texture, Printed Kraft Stampin' Up! Card Stock Close to Cocoa, 48 # Clear Vellum printed Polka Dots Not Quite Navy)

Mojo Razzleberry Lemonade - Yum!

Another sneak peek at the yummy Razzleberry Lemonade designer paper available July 1st. This card uses three of Stampin' Up!'s new In Colors - Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, and Crushed Curry. The base of the card is Melon Mambo and the background is layered with different prints from the designer papers. Hint: A paper strip is a great alternative to ribbon across your card.

This great layout is from Mojo Monday's sketch challenge 92. This is a classic-meets-new card as I used a retiring stamp set with new colors being released soon. I stamped the flower from Heartfelt Thanks (#114980, retiring June 30th!) in these three great new colors - Melon Mambo, Rich Razzleberry, and Crushed Curry, then layered it with Crushed Curry and Rich Razzleberry cardstock. The bottom edge of the Razzleberry layer was trimmed with the scallop edge punch (#112091).

The small square was punched and layered and then topped with designer hardware. The designer hardware is on sale now 50% off, only $2.48 per package until June 30th while supplies last. Hint: The designer hardware is very easy to attach with a crop-a-dile. I also added to silver brads to the left side of the floral image for balance.

Lastly, a ribbon was added to the left side of the paper strip and the sentiment 'thanks' was stamped in white and then embossed in white in the lower right corner.

Enjoy!

Julie

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Heartfelt Thanks, #114980, $32.95, retiring June 30th!

Scallop Edge Punch, #112091, $15.95

Sunny Bird

My take on the color challenge this week (CC224) at splitcoaststampers.com. The challenge was to use Pacific Point, Summer Sun and Tangerine Tango. I would have never used this combination, but I really like the results.

The pattern paper is the new Razzleberry Lemonade that will be available to order July 1st. I stamped a second generation solid flower in Tangerine Tango. Hint: Second generation means that you have inked the stamp and stamped on scrap paper once before stamping on your project to make a lighter image. Then I stamped the line image in Tangerine Tango.

The oval was cut out with my coluzzle and sponged with Summer Sun. The edges were then sponged with Tangerine Tango. I punched the top of the oval with two holes and threaded the ribbon through the back and attached the oval to the pattern paper. The bird was stamped in Pacific Point, cut out and attached with dimensionals. Hint: I cut the thin edge pieces of my dimensionals to attach to each part of the bird for a secure mount. Don't let these edge pieces go to waste.

The pattern paper was layered on Whisper White cardstock that was trimmed with zigzag scissors before mounting it to the Summer Sun cardstock base. The lovely pacific point corduroy buttons (#114341) added just the right touch on the bottom left. And they are on sale 50% off until the end of the month for only $4.95 while supplies last.

Enjoy!

Julie

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Blue Giraffe

I was inspired by 2 of featured-stamper Christy's cards. My main inspiration was this card. I used a giraffe image and the basic layout. I loved the way Christy uses color, and the way I used the colors in this card was inspired by this cute dog card.

The giraffe from Wild About You (retiring June 30th!) is stamped in Pacific Point (also retiring June 30th!) on Whisper White cs. The spots and ground shadows were colored with Blush Blossom marker. The adorable red flowers are from the same set. I colored just the flower (not the stem) with a Real Red marker and stamped. This was offset layered on Pacific Point and black cs.

One thing I loved about Christy's card is the background that was stamped with the Patterns Print background stamp and then overstamped with images in another color. I stamped this Sahara Sand background with Sahara Sand then overstamped with dotted pattern with Tempting Turquoise craft ink. Hint: You'll need to use craft ink (which sits on top of the paper like paint) for the true color to show up.

The flower was punched from various circle punches and the scallop punch. Hint: When punching out a stamped image, stamp first then turn the punch over and center the stamped image in the punch and punch away. It is a nightmare to do it any other way! And the Stampin' Up! punches are so great for lining things up! I love, love, love punches!

Enjoy!
Julie
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Wild About You, #115110, $25.95 USD

Clean and Simple 20!

The Clean and Simple challenge today was paper piecing. (CAS20) This little balloon from Crazy for Cupcakes is perfect. I stamped the balloons on the white card base first. Then I stamped just the balloon on designer paper scraps, cut them and adhered them over the stamped balloon on the card. Easy!

The sentiment was stamped with Apricot Appeal. I then stamped in red on a scrap of white, cut out BEST, adhered to a scrap of bashful blue and attached with dimensionals.


Enjoy!
Julie
Click here to order Stampin' Up! products.

Crazy for Cupcakes, #111618, $23.95 USD

Wild About You

This fun little elephant was inspired by a card I saw by Jeanne S. at splitcoaststampers.com. The elephant was inked with Bashful Blue then I used a Not Quite Navy marker and ink pad to ink the edges and to stamp the small flower directly on the elephant stamp. Then I huffed and stamped the elephant. Hint: Breathing or "huffing" on your stamp adds moisture to the ink before you stamp. (The elephant is from SU Wild About You. It's retiring at the end of this month, so if you can't live without it send me a message and I'll order it for you.)



The elephant was then masked and the sky and grass were sponged in. I used a Garden Green marker to add the grass blades. Hint: Turn the image upside down and draw the grass by pulling the marker towards you.



The base was pieced with Not Quite Navy and Pretty in Pink cardstock stamped with the Boho Backgrounds. Not Quite Navy was stamped in white craft ink and the pink was stamped with versamark. I used the cropadile to punch to holes in the top left corner of the main image to add the ribbon bow.

New Look!

Check out my new blog look! What do you think? Any ideas or suggestions? Would love to hear your comments.

Enjoy!

Julie

Clean and Simple 19!

Another Splitcoaststampers.com challenge. The clean and simple challenge, CAS19. This card measures 5 1/2" square. The front is Lavendar Lace layered on white and Elegant Eggplant. The rose was stamped with white craft ink, then masked and the smaller flower was stamped with Lavendar Lace. Hint: When you make a mask for a stamp attach it under the lid of the stamp set and you'll have it for the next time. This card took me less than 5 minutes to make because I had previously made the mask for the rose.

The sentiment is stamped in Elegant Eggplant. And don't you just love this fabulous ribbon? It's one of my favorite ribbons in the current Stampin' Up! catalog - Whisper White Organza Ribbon (#114319).

Enjoy!

Julie

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Friendly Bird

OK - these colors may look familiar! This card was made with the colors from the color challenge (Baja Breeze, Ruby Red, Whisper White) and the Featured Stamper Challenge (FS123) at Splitcoaststampers.com. I was inspired by this card of sumtoy's. Isn't this a cute layout? I really liked the pieced background.

I stamped the bird from the SU stamp set Friends 24-7 with Basic Brown. Now here is the tricky part and if you look very closely you can see what I did. I inked just the ends of the limb and stamped them at the end of the first stamped image to extend the branch to the edge of the paper.

I used reinkers and aquapainter brushes to paint the image then covered it with versamark pen and embossed with clear embossing powder. Then I sponged with Baja Breeze and sponged the edges with Not Quite Navy. I used Urban Oasis pattern paper pieced on Whisper White cs for the background.

The flowers are from the SU pretties kit. I painted them with Ruby Red and Baja Breeze reinkers then layered with a button. Hint: I attached the flowers with a brad and adhered the button to the brad with a glue dot. This gave it a more secure hold.

Splitcoaststampers sketch challenge

I love sketches and this card was inspired by the splitcoaststampers sketch challenge SC233 and the color challenge CC223 (Baja Breeze, Ruby Red, Whisper White) Aren't these great colors!?!
I stamped the flowers with Basic Brown then water colored with reinkers. Then I covered the stamped image with versamark and embossed with clear embossing powder before sponging with the Baja Breeze ink. The outside edges were then sponged lightly with brown. The Baja Breeze background was stamped with white craft ink and embossed with white embossing powder. Hint: Stamping in white and embossing with white gives you a nice crisp image.

All the pieces were layered with Chocolate Chip cs. The main image was adhered with dimensionals and the buttons were added with glue dots.

Silhouettes

Just a couple of quick pictures of cards I made a long time ago. The inspiration for these cards came from a papercrafting magazine I think, but it has been too long ago for me to remember exactly. The designer paper is the old yummy chocolate pattern paper from Stampin' Up! It may be hard to tell but the main image on the first card is stamped on Whisper White cs and layered on Very Vanilla cs. It's a cool effect, combining the two neutrals.

On the second card I stamped the image with Pink Passion and then added dots of brown. I really like the bright pop of color with the brown! Also instead of layering the focal image the edges are heavily inked with Chocolate Chip ink with the direct to paper technique.

The past couple of weeks my 20 yo daughter and I have been working on scrapbooking her recent trip to Europe. We have been doing some assembly line scrapbooking - nothing fancy, but cute and quick. I'll get some pictures posted in the next couple of days, along with recent Splitcoaststamper challenges and upcoming Stampin' Up! stamp camp projects.

Cards in a Snap and Masking

Here's two simple cards that I promised you. The first was inspired by a gift certificate from a gardening center. I was asked to decorate an envelope to go with it and loved the quick results on the vanilla envelope so I reproduced it on a simple card. I don't think I would have thought of this color combo. Later I added vanilla taffeta ribbon and that added just the right extra without too much extra time. I used the two hole punch and punched to the left of the sentiment and then tied my ribbon in a small bow.

The base is SU Elegant Eggplant, which is hard to see in this photo. Then the flowers from SU Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set were stamped on Very Vanilla. The large flower was stamped first with Elegant Eggplant, then I masked it and stamped the smaller flower with Cameo Coral around it. The sentiment from Heartfelt Thanks (retiring this month) was stamped last with Elegant Eggplant. If your worried about stamping the sentiment straight use a stamp-a-ma-jig.

The longest part of this process is creating a mask. I use printer paper scraps to create my masks. Just stamp your image on your paper and cut it out. Then I use a very small amount of SNAIL adhesive to adhere it over my stamped image. There's a great tutorial on masking at splitcoaststampers.com. They use a post it note that already has adhesive on it. After you create your mask, put it in the stamp set box and reuse it over and over again. Now this card really is VERY quick and easy.

This second card was a quick thank you we created for Stephanie to send out after her baby shower. It's on SU Regal Rose and Whisper White cardstock. I used flowers from Doodle This (retiring at the end of the month) stamped randomly around the edges in Chocolate Chip, Regal Rose and Pink Pirouette ink. The sentiment is from Cheery Chat (previously retired) in Regal Rose.

There you have it. These cards took just a few minutes to create - cards in a snap. Stamping and creating doesn't have to take hours!

Enjoy!

Julie