Skater Girl aka Build a Bear :)

Wow! It's amazing how fast time can get away from you when you are busy! Yesterday was the first time all week that I've been able to get into my stamping room!

This month marks my skater girl's anniversary :-). She got on skates for the first time in her life in October 2 years ago. She could hardly stay up on the skates! The owner of the rink saw her struggling and came over and told my husband and I about the beginner skate classes. We asked our daughter if she was interested in taking the classes and she breezed through all three levels and made it onto the Artistic Skating Team by that January. She just completed her first year of competition in August. The skate year starts in September each year. She won three 1st place medals at the Regional Championships in June. This earned her three places at Nationals. At Nationals, she came in 15th place in the nation in Figures, 13th place in Loops, and 8th place in the combined events. Not bad at all for the 1st year at Nationals! Since this is her anniversary month, I wanted to make her a card and we got her a cake to celebrate. Below is the card and the cake :-).

If you guessed that I used the Build a Bear dies, you would be 100% correct! I had to make some adjustments to the die cuts to make the skate dress. All the members of the team wear black velvet dresses or pants and shirt (for the guys). Each dress or shirt has the initials K.P. on the left side below the shoulder in swarovski rhinestones. The K.P. is in honor of Kyle Peck, the son of our world class coach (John) in Chicago. Kyle was hit by a car at the World Championships in Rome and was killed. He was only ten years old. It makes me very sad every time I think of this. Since then, all of John's (Kyle's Dad) skaters wear black (John's favorite color) and the initials K.P., to honor Kyle. My daughter even has KP on her Nationals jacket to honor Kyle. So now that you know why the skate dresses are black, the skirts also come down to a point in the front and a slightly longer point in the back of the dress. This is standard for roller figure skate dresses. Just so you know, the dress bottom of the skater on the card is not wearing swimsuit type  bottoms :-). She is wearing her dress in the points that skate dresses have. I used a pearl on the left shoulder to represent the KP because that sure wouldn't fit on the little skater in rhinestones! For the skates, I die cut them in Whisper White and then with a VersaMark pen, I colored in the very bottom of the shoes and heat embossed the bottoms in silver embossing powder. The plates on skates are silver, but my daughter pointed out that I could have done the very bottoms of the shoes in brown to match the heel and sole on the bottom of the boots. Just didn't think of that, lol! The wheels are done with a Whisper White 1/4" circle punch with a 1/8" Silver Glimmer Paper circle punch. Figure wheels are white so that's why I used white for the wheels :-D. For the skater's head, I used a 1 3/8" circle punch and for the hair I used a 1 1/2" circle punch. I punched out two circles first in Early Espresso and discarded the circles. Then I came back in with my punch and punched again twice, so I had the shape of the hair. My daughter actually wears this hair style. The floor is done in More Mustard and I stamped the Wood Grain background stamp on it in More Mustard ink. I sponged the very top of the floor piece in More Mustard to give the floor a little more depth on the card. The inside is stamped with, "Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams," from the Word Play stamp set. So there ya' have it... my little skater girl Build a Bear. My real little skater girl LOVES this card! What more could you ask as a Mom :-) ? Have a great weekend!!!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Paper: Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Basic Black, More Mustard, Early Espresso, Silver Glimmer Paper, Blush Blossom (retired- please contact Stampin' Up! and ask them to bring this color back :-D )
Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes
Classic Stampin' Ink: More Mustard, Marina Mist, Blush Blossom (retired)
Markers: Early Espresso, Basic Black
Dies: Build a Bear, Beary Essentials
Punches: Modern Label, Word Window, 1 3/8" Circle, 1 1/2" Circle
Other: VersaMark pen, Basic Pearls, Pretty in Pink Stampin' Pastels, white crochet thread for the shoe laces

Another Challenge Card

This one was for the challenge at Inkspirations Challenges. The colors for the challenge are Rich Razzleberry, Pretty in Pink, Chocolate Chip, and Whisper White. I haven't used my Four Frames stamp set yet, so this was a good opportunity to do so :). I also used the Lace Ribbon Border punch and the Sweet Buttons embosslit. The sentiment inside the Frame stamp is from the stamp set Best of Everything.

For the inside, I left it blank and just added a little button in the lower right corner. The corners were done with a retired Stampin' Up! punch, but I don't remember the name of the punch :(. Since I listed everything I used, I won't post a supplies list today :). Have a great day today!

Challenge Card

I haven't had much mojo this week, so when that happens I like to do challenges. Challenges are just that, they challenge you to think outside of your normal box, and that's a good thing :-). The challenge was for The Paper Players. I used the new Peekaboo Frames die in the Holiday Mini on the front of my card. Such a fun die!

 When you open up the little window, there is a stamped message inside. The outside of the window has a wood grain mat that matches the card front. To create the card front background, I first stamped Very Vanilla with the Woodgrain background stamp in More Mustard, and then I ran it through my Big Shot with the Stripes embossing folder. With a sponge dauber, I lightly sponged over the stripes with More Mustard to bring out the embossing.

  

The leaves are stamped with More Mustard, Cajun Craze, and the outlines are done in Bravo Burgundy. For the leaves that are stamped in Cajun Craze, I sponged around the outsides with More Mustard.

The inside is sponged around the edges with More Mustard and the opposite corners are stamped. Thanks for stopping by today! See ya' tomorrow!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Paper: Cajun Craze, Very Vanilla, Bravo Burgundy
Classic Stampin' Ink: More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Bravo Burgundy
Stamps: Gently Falling, Falling Leaves, Day of Gratitude
Dies: Peekaboo Frames
Punches: 1" Circle punch, 1/2" Circle punch

Back to Christmas :)

I seem to be jumping back and forth between Autumn, Thanksgiving, and Christmas :-). I ordered Tidings of Joy a while back and never had time to ink it up, until now. I LOVE this set! The images are the cutest and since it's a line art stamp, it can be colored! I used my blender pens and my Watercolor Wonder Crayons to color this image stamped on watercolor paper. It's been a while since I've colored in an image and it was so much fun to color! Soooo relaxing! I embossed the Very Vanilla background paper, but before I embossed it, I inked the edges with Bashful Blue. You can ink the edges after you emboss, but sometimes I like solid inking around the edges. When you ink the edges after embossing you catch the embossed areas with the ink and not so much inside the debossed areas. 

Inside of card

Only one stamp set used on this card, so not so many supplies required :-). Just a note: when I colored in my image with my Watercolor Wonder Crayons, I also used the small tip end of some of my markers to color in those little teeny tiny spots- like the flowers on Mary's dress. That little tip on the markers is perfect for tiny details! List of supplies below. Have a wonderful day!!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Paper: Marina Mist, Bashful Blue, Very Vanilla, Watercolor Paper, So Saffron, More Mustard, Early Espresso
Coloring Mediums: Watercolor Wonder Crayons, Stampin' Write Markers, Early Espresso Classic Stampin' Ink, StazOn Black
Stamps: Tidings of Joy
Punches: Dotted Scallop Ribbon Border, Large and Small Star (both retired) but you can use the Stars #2 Sizzix die- the third and fourth stars down in size are the same sizes as the retired star punches
Embossing folders: Square Lattice used on the small star, Snow Burst in the Holiday Mini

Christmas Tree Treat Box

Did you know that the Petal Cone die makes a great Christmas Tree? These will be cute to place beside each place setting on your Christmas table or just for special little treats for those special people in your life. I die cut two Petal Cones from Garden Green card stock and embossed them with the new Snow Burst embossing folder in the Holiday Mini- love this folder! I inked the edges and lightly inked over the embossed design with Garden Green ink. You can add little punched out circles to your tree if you'd like. Using 1/8" circle punch outs is time consuming, but cute :D ! 

 You'll want to add your treats inside the tree before you add the tree skirt. Close up the flaps on the Petal Cone after adding your treat or little gift inside. Die cut a circle with the Clear Circle die in Very Vanilla and another circle from the Scallop Circle die in Cherry Cobbler. Emboss the Very Vanilla with the embossing folder of choice and ink over it lightly with Crumb Cake ink. Adhere to the bottom of your Christmas Tree. Punch out or die cut two little stars from More Mustard and add the little star to the top attached to a toothpick. You'll want to trim the toothpick to make it shorter though.

You could also leave out the treats and just make a few of these for decoration around your house :). Have an awesome day today!

Blessings!
Barb

Colors used: Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Very Vanilla

Build a Bear Pilgrim

Surpise! A Sunday post! :-) I wanted to get this one posted early so I could participate in the SUO Challenge before it was too late.

If you've followed my blog for a while, then you will recall how much I love my Build a Bear dies that are exclusive to Stampin' Up! It's been some time since I've pulled them out, so I pulled them out a couple of days ago with a little Pilgrim in mind for a Thanksgiving card. I also wanted to participate in one of the challenges over at SUO Challenges. The challenge for the week was to use leaves, so I pulled out a few sets that have leaves, and this is the end result...

I used three stamp sets and a couple of retired Build a Bear dies to create my Pilgrim. His hat is actually made from the Large tag punch and the Large Oval punch, with a few alterations to the punched shapes. Please see below for the list of supplies that I used. Thanks for stopping by and have an awesome day today!

Blessings!
Barb

Supplies:
Paper: Cajun Craze, Pumpkin Pie, Very Vanilla, Basic Gray, Old Olive, Basic Black, Early Espresso, Blush Blossom (retired)
Classic Stampin' Ink: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Early Espresso, Basic Gray, So Saffron, Blush Blossom (retired)
Stamps: Falling Leaves, Season of Friendship, Teeny Tiny Wishes
Dies: Build a Bear- Bear, Beary Essentials, Beary Christmas (retired), Beary Girl (retired), 
Punches: 1 3/8" Circle, Large Tag, Large Oval, Boho Blossoms, 1/4" Circle, 1/8" Circle
Other: Stampin' Pastels- Pretty in Pink

Add a Little More...

I've been trying to work on Christmas cards here and there when I'm able to steal a few minutes. I've been making individual cards with specific people in mind. I have a friend who loves everything vintage and although the card I made for her isn't exactly vintage, it has a little bit of a vintage feel to it. Enough that I think she will like it :). 

Inside of both cards

I made another card using the same design, but I added a little bit more to the design, just to show you how that little bit of extra can really enhance your card.

 I brayered the inside of my embossing folder with Blushing Bride ink, placed my Very Vanilla card stock inside, and ran it through my Big Shot. Just that little bit of color really brings out the embossing. You can't really tell in my photo, but the darker edges around the Scalloped Circle, the Blushing Bride mat, and the holly leaves are heat embossed with Iridescent Ice embossing powder so that those areas sparkle. I also distressed the edges of the sentiment banner for a little added interest. Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by to visit!

Blessings!

Barb

Colors used: Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz, Very Vanilla, Old Olive

Silver Anniversary

I don't mean to be so absent from my blog, but we have had several things that we needed to take care of that are very important. Hopefully, I will get back on track and get back into my stamping room. In the meantime, I have some projects that I stole a few minutes to make in between.

A wonderful couple that we know is celebrating their silver anniversary this month. I used a lot of silver on their card to mark such a special anniversary. If you haven't already, you need to get some of the Glimmer Paper in the Holiday Mini :).

 The sentiment inside the card is heat embossed with silver embossing powder.

I made the envelope to match so it will look nice on their gift :). If you have any questions about supplies, please let me know. 

Blessings!

Barb