Sailing Away - Fusion Challenge

Sailing, sailing, sailing. Somewheeeeeere. Beyond the seeeeeeeeaaaaaa. 

*warning: brief-but-entertaining off-topic tangent ahead*

Do you want to know what that song always brings to mind? Back in my junior high days I realllllly wanted to lose some weight (hah... if I was only that skinny now) and this was pre-Netflix, Hulu, Youtube workout video on demand.  My mom had this old copy of Richard Simmons Sweatin' to the Oldies and my sister and I would clamber off the school bus and watch good ol' Richard in is upper-thigh-baring 70s track shorts and try to do our best follow along. Beyond the sea was always my fave song, because it meant we were cooling down and the VCR tape was almost done. 

Haha - good memories!

BUT the real reason we're all here is for a card, yes? 

Before I show off the finished design, check out that faaaabulous inspiration image & sketch from Fusion this fortnight (pssstt...... I'm just learning now that fortnight means two weeks. I always thought it was a fancy way of saying month, but NOPE. I feel so British when I say it, too. Try it! And then have some tea and crumpets.)

Woops... I didn't warn you about that tangent. 

If you haven't played along at Fusion before, I love it because you can choose either the sketch OR the inspiration image, or you can mash the two together (which is what I chose to do). 

Mix and matching patterns anyone? Thanks to Simon Says Stamp's Sailing Away set and coordinating papers, I was able to do just that with ease!

The inspiration image made me use all those different stripes and patterns, and if you squint you can see a little ship on the countertop. I also used the sketch as a base for my design. 

I'm also going to play along with the following awesome challenges:
Sisterhood of Crafters - Destination/Travel
Use Your Stuff - Use a Sketch of your choice
Come and Get It - It's in the Male 

Well that's all for me today, folks! I hope you take time to go see what the rest of my Fusion Friends did and then play along yourself!!

Distress Oxides! My First Play Session

Hello Friends! 
I am popping in to share a card I designed for The Card Concept's new challenge. 

I jumped up and down and up and down when I got my Distress Oxides in the mail and I had a first initial play around with them. I'm planning to do a detailed tutorial sometime within the next week of all the various techniques and give a full review - so stay tuned!

I started by doing a sponging and spritzing Distress technique using Tumbled glass Distress Inks and Cracked Pistatchio Distress Oxide Inks. 

I should probably have started by saying my colors were pulled from the inspiration image for The Card Concept's new challenge. Isn't it puuuurty?

I also loved the style lines in that image, so I wanted to do a curved blue in the background of my card. 

Next, I created a mixture of greens and amber and used a die cut to create teeny daisies. I stamped and watercolored a jar using the STAMPlorations VIGNETTE: Eclectic Florals set and then I glued and put things together. 

The sentiment is from my Strong Women stamp set. As you can see, I also used a die cut from Stampin' Up to create a die cut in the background, too. 

I'm going to link this up to:

Little Red Wagon - March Birthstone Aquamarine
Happy Little Stampers - Watercolor Challenge with Smooshing

Thanks for stopping by. 

By the way - if you're looking for some more inspiration, I'm up on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog today showing off how to stamp on coffee mugs! Go check it out!

Celebrate Your Birthday Card - Retro Style

I love working with retro things, vintage embellishments and fun patterns so the monthly challenge at STAMPlorations is sah-weet for my cardmaking inspiration. 

I wanted to have some fun with the colors and patterns of the late 60s and early 70s so I broke out some of my vintagey papers. 

I chose this rich gold-brown and used a white pigment ink to stamp a subtle pattern using balloons from A Snarky Birthday to You.

I layered on funky patterned papers, adding some texture with with CUTplorations Art Edges for a little bit of visual interest. 

I used the CUTplorations Celebrate Word Die and double layered it for dimension, stamped a sentiment using SENTIMENT BUILDERS: Celebrate, scribbled on some x's using a white gel pen, and splashed the whole thing with some Picket Fence Distress Spray Stains. 

Fusion Challenge - Pink, Pretty, Coffee!

I'm popping in for a quick card I designed for the new Fusion Challenge. 

The minute I saw this adorable inspiration image, I knew exactly what I wanted to create. This card took me all of 20 minutes and that NEVER happens! 

Usually I'm putzing around with this embellishment, trying that paper - no that one!, all the while attempting to keep myself from getting glue on my boobs (I said it) because I've left the cap off *again* and am constantly reaching for things. I can't tell you just how many shirts I've ruined with that ol' fiasco. 

But anyhow, here's my card:

I used STAMPlorations A Cuppa Love stamp set (which my bloggy readers can get in the STAMPlorations store for 20% off by using code STAMPGIRLBECCA) along with the XOXO word die.

I added some teeny heart stickers, along with a less-than-teeny heart rosette and put it all together! 

I hope you'll go check out what the other Fusion girlies have made for your eye-ticement. 

Little Red Wagon - Company or Companies you Love
Oh La La Creations - Die Cuts

Wednesday Espresso-Sions - My First Coffee Loving Cardmakers Post!

Heeeeey! I've got a banging card up on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog. It's my very first post as an OFFICIAL designer and I made a super sweet mixed media card. 

 

Go check it out! There's full step-by-step directions of some fun techniques. I promise you won't regret it!

Vintage Chic Card - Valentine

I know... I know... it's the day after Valentine's Day and I should stop already, but I just can't! I've whipped up SO many valentines this season and I've still got a few more to showcase. 

Case in point? This one that I designed for the latest The Card Concept challenge, which hit the internet TODAY. 

Isn't that inspiration image a beaut? I love all the vintagey goodness going on and was super inspired by the scrawly script and leather heart. 

So I decided to make some paper leather. 

Check that out! This was made with a combination of Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Antique Linen, and Tea Dye Distress Inks - using the Distress Ink Double Dipping technique. 

Next, I brought out a lovely little cardboard heart and did some alterations to give it texture and life. 

I started by using Vintage Photo Distress Paint over the surface of the cardboard and, while it was still wet, sprinkled some Rust Embossing Powder over the top. I heat set it with my embossing gun and edged the heart with a coppery InkaGold. 

To bring in the scrawly script, I used a big background stamp and added a layer of Distress Crayon and Distress Spray Stain splatters, edging the whole panel in InkaGold to tie it in. 

Put it all together and what do you get? Taaaa daaaa! 

I hope you'll go check out the other awesome inspiration on The Card Concept blog and then play along! 

I'm going to enter my card at the following challenges:
Mixed Media World - Anything Mixed Media Goes
Try it on Tuesday - Let's Get Messy with Paints/inks

My Valentine... A Valentine's Day Memory

Valentine's Day has always been my favorite holiday - mostly because the weekend before was always spent with my Grandma Mead, cutting up sparkly bits of pink and red and creating cards, laughing and gabbing away the hours. 

My grandma loved all 22 of her grandchildren and managed to take time for each of them in unique ways. Valentine's cardmaking weekend was "our" time and I looked forward to it every year.

I'd always buy the basics - cardstock and V-day papers, but I cringe now to think about the expense she incurred in embellishments, ribbons, stamps, inks, embossing powders and specialty tools she kept at the ready for her young granddaughter.

She'd patiently show me the latest cardmaking techniques, let me mess up her kitchen for two days, and then put it all back together again once my whir of valentine's energy subsided. My favorite part, though, was when our creative retreat came to a close. I'd line up my collection of creations on her kitchen counter and we'd carefully vote on the order of best cards. She always pretended like there wasn't a bad one in the bunch, but hey - I'm sure in my 10-11-12-year-old cardmaking infancy that she was a big ol' lovable liar.

I can't remember when or how or why this tradition started... but I miss it terribly. Her patience and love created the foundation for the papercrafting artist I am today. She's been gone now for 3 years. 
 

In the years since she's been gone, I haven't really done much of V-day crafting (at least not on the scale that I used to). No pun intended, but my heart just wasn't in it. This year, though, I'm starting a new tradition. I am teaching a Valentine's Day card class and following it up with a crafty crop. I'm excited to share my love of all things red and pink and sparkly with new crafters.

Would you all send some extra good vibes my way this weekend? They would definitely be joyously accepted! 


Now that storytime is over, I suppose I'd better share one of the designs I'll be teaching.

Check out that metallic goodness, loved up with some InkaGold paste. 

My card was derived from the Atlantic Hearts Sketch:

That scrawly "love you" comes from Verve's Stronger Love sentiment set, which has theee most beautiful sentiments. <3 <3 Seriously! Go check it out!

I also want to play along in the following awesome challenges:
Simon Say Stamp Monday - Young at Heart
Crafty Cardmakers - Love Love Love
Paper Players - Will You Be My Valentine

Thank you for stopping by and reading my memories! <3 <3