Build a Bear Leprechaun

If you've been following my blog for a while, then you know that the Build a Bear dies are very versatile- they are NOT just for bears! You can use these dies to make people and other critters, like bunny rabbits :). If you liked playing with paper dolls when you were little, you will LOVE playing with the Build a Bear dies :D. I would like you to meet Shamus... 

Several punches were used to create Shamus' little scene. The Scallop Trim Corner and Scallop Trim Border punches made my square. I cut my Whisper White card stock 5.25". After punching the outside edges of my first square, I cut another Whisper White square at 4.25" and then ran it through my Big Shot in the Square Lattice embossing folder, centering it in the Scalloped Trim square. Shamus' beard is made with the largest petal from the Blossom Petals Builder punch. His head is the 1 3/8" circle punch. His little pot of gold is done with the Extra Large Tag punch and the Word Window punch. The legs of his pot were made with the Word Window punch. The pieces of gold are actually the Small Heart punch, layered. His hat is made with 1 3/8" circle punch, the Small Heart punch, and the Word Window punch.

The inside of the card has a 4.75" Whisper White square, also punched with the Scallop Trim punches, matted on Lucky Limeade card stock cut at 5.75" square. This card is going in the mail today heading to my daughter in Texas :). Have a wonderful day today! I hope that the weather where you live is as beautiful as our weather! Spring is here!

Blessings!
Barb

Certainly Celery, Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, Cajun Craze, Basic Black, Soft Suede Textured, Old Olive, Blush Blossom (retired) card stock
Garden Green, Blush Blossom (retired) Classic Stampin' Ink
Cajun Craze Stampin' Write Marker
Punches- named in my post above, plus 1/4" circle and 1/8" circle punches
Build a Bear dies- Bear and Beary Essentials

Miss You...

Last night we went to our grandson's 10th birthday party- wow, where did that time go to?! Although it was a happy occasion, my daughter Sarah was missing from the party :(. She moved to Texas two years ago when her husband came home from Iraq and they decided to stay. So, they don't get home often and family celebrations and holidays just aren't the same without them there. I made this card this morning to send to her to let her know how much I miss her. I used a SCS color challenge on my card- Pool Party, Poppy Parade, and Daffodil Delight with a touch of ribbon.

I inked up my embossing folder with Pool Party ink before inserting my card stock into the folder and ran it through my Big Shot. As you can see, this transfers the ink only on the parts of the folder that are not raised. This is not a new technique and has been around for a few years. There are some Christmas cards on my blog that used this technique. Depending on the embossing folder design, you can get some very pretty looks with this technique.

I kept the inside very simple, but adding a Pool Party mat and a few punched corners adds a little bit more interest to the inside of the card. 

On another note, when I woke up this morning, (very groggy to say the least, lol!) my husband said, "you have to get your camera and take pictures!" I looked out the window to see what had him so excited about my camera and I immediately got my camera and went outside in my pajamas. There is nothing like early morning on a farm, nothing. Everything is bathed in golden early morning sunlight as the sun starts its ascent in the sky. This morning though, we were treated to not only the golden sunlight, but the morning mist as well. Here are a couple of my favorite photos from my morning venture. I came into the house with cold wet feet from the dew, but it was worth it :).

The Horse Barn

Golden Sun Rays

The Garden Gate

As I type, the windows are open, the sweet, fresh air is flowing through the house, the sun is shining, the sky is a perfect blue, and I can hear the hens out in the yard squawking at each other. It doesn't get any better... :)

PS- when I was taking pictures of my card this morning, I kept seeing an orange paw pop up in the corner of my lens. Our cat, Dooberoo, decided he needed to help, lol! You can see the card in the upper left corner. Ya' gotta love kitties!

Blessings!

Barb

Whisper White card stock

Daffodil Delight, Poppy Parade, Pool Party, Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Ink

Up, Up & Away stamp set

Framed Tulips embossing folder

1" and 1 1/4" circle punches

Daffodil Delight 1/4" grosgrain ribbon

My Wild Irish Rose

I've posted before how much I LOVE sketches... there is nothing like a great sketch to get your creativity flowing :). I was surfing some blogs early, early, this morning and found a new sketch blog (to me, anyway). I loved the sketch they posted for this week and I immediately put together the card below in my head when I saw the sketch. Took me less than ten minutes to make this card- love that! Back to the blog I found... it's Freshly Made Sketches. You should pop on over there and check out the sketches and all the gorgeous cards overflowing the posts :). You will not be disappointed! For this week, here is the sketch...

I made this rose a few days ago, but I just wasn't happy with anything I did with it, soooo, when I saw the sketch, it took me seconds to visualize the card below :D. After I made the rose, I had the song, "My Wild Irish Rose," stuck in my head for hours, so what else was I gonna do with it, other than make a St. Patrick's Day card with it? Not the traditional colors for St. Patrick's  Day, but hey, I'm Irish, I can get away with it don't ya' think? ;-)

 Inside the card is a lovely Irish Blessing matted on Daffodil Yellow card stock. I added another little four leaf clover for a bit of extra luck ;-) in the lower right corner.

 Here is a close up of the rose....

Thanks for stopping by today, have a GREAT day!!!

Blessings!

Barb

Supplies:

Whisper White, Daffodil Yellow, Old Olive, Marina Mist card stock

Tangerine Tango, Chocolate Chip Classic Stampin' Ink, Daffodil Delight Stampin' Write marker

Beau Chateau Designer Series Paper

Finial Press, Square Lattice embossing folders

Scallop Trim border punch and various non Stampin' Up! punches

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

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

Stampin' Celebration Challenge #47 Number Two :-)

This is the second card that I made for the Stampin' Celebration challenge. I was invited to be a Party Guest Designer this week, so when I made my card for the challenge, I made another one :-). For the inspiration photo, see my post below this one or hop on over to Stampin' Celebration so you can play too :-).

I chose only one part of the inspiration photo for the elements on my card to make a child's card. I used some of the colors in the stripes around the lion and made the stripes on a base of Pear Pizzazz. Even though the inspiration photo showed most of the lion's body, I decided to just make his head with some punches. Since there are several circle shapes in the inspiration photo, I used the Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder for those :-D. 

Since the lion has on a party hat, I stamped 'Happy Birthday' from the Teeny Tiny Wishes set. I really like the size of the sentiments in Teeny Tiny Wishes- they fit in teeny tiny spaces :-). Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful day today!!!!

Blessings!

Barb

Supplies:

Paper: Peach Parfait-119794, Pear Pizzazz-119795, Whisper White-100730, So Saffron-105118, Marina Mist-119682, Chocolate Chip-102128, Very Vanilla-101650, In Color Hostess Level One Designer Series Paper-121028

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes-115370

Classic Stampin' Ink: Chocolate Chip: 100908

Stampin' Write Markers: Chocolate Chip-100071, Pretty in Pink-100045

Punches: 1" Circle-119868, 1/2" Circle-119869, Itty Bitty Shapes Punch Pack-118309, 1/4" circle

Textured Impressions Embossing Folder: Perfect Polka Dots-117335

Other: Stampin' Dimensionals-104430

Stampin' Celebration Challenge #47

I was invited to be a Party Guest Designer at Stampin' Celebration this week. The photo above is the inspiration photo for this week's challenge. I actually made two cards for the challenge this week, so I will post my second one tomorrow. I've really enjoyed participating in the Stampin' Celebration challenges. There are so many fun elements to choose from in the inspiration photos :-). If you haven't participated in the Stampin' Celebration challenges yet, you should pop on over there and get started :-D.

For my card, I loved all the yellows in the inspiration photo, so I chose yellow as my base color. I chose to use the blue and white wallpaper in the inspiration photo for my background. I cut strips of Marina Mist and adhered them to Very Vanilla. As you can see in my photo, I also embossed the background with the Square Lattice embossing folder. Since there a few circle shapes in the inspiration photo, I chose to use a circle as my focal point. I added leaves and purple flowers, which you'll see around the bottom of the cake in the inspiration photo.

I matted Very Vanilla on Marina Mist and continued with the flowers and the leaves on the inside of my card.

Thank you so much to the Design Team at Stampin' Celebration for inviting me to be a Party Guest Designer this week! It was so much fun!!!! 

Blessings!

Barb

Supplies:
Paper: Daffodil Delight-119683, Very Vanilla-101650, Marina Mist-119682, Pear Pizzazz-119795, Perfect Plum-101889

Stamps: Sense of Time-113804

Classic Stampin' Ink: Marina Mist-119668

Punches: Boho Blossoms-119858, 1/4" circle 

Dies: Little Leaves-114511

Textured Impressions Embossing Folder: Square Lattice-119976

Other: Fold-it- Bows Template (non-Stampin' Up!)

Sewing, Sewing, Sewing

I've been missing in action from my blog for the last week due to sewing competition skate dresses for my daughter. She needs a new figures dress and a new dress for her creative solo routine. Even though she doesn't need them for a few weeks, I don't like to be last minute Annie and have tons of stress because I waited until the last minute :-). I plan the have them completed and hanging in her closet at least four weeks before she actually needs them. I'm not quite done sewing them yet, but once they are done, then commences gluing hundreds of rhinestones on them. The creative solo dress is going to be using some tiny rhinestones so I'm not quite sure if I'm really looking forward to working with those, lol!

I made a card days ago for a challenge that I saw online, but that challenge is long past now and I didn't get it posted on time :-D. The challenge was to use the colors pink, navy, green, and vanilla. I've never paired pink with navy before so thought I would try that color combination out. The end result is below :-)....

I used a Level One Hostess stamp set (Because I Care) for the main image. I think hydrangeas are such pretty flowers and I wanted a pink one :-). The stamp set comes with a single little flower stamp. I stamped several little flowers and punched them out with one of the punches in the Itty Bitty Punch Pack. The four petal shaped flower punch is a perfect fit for the little flower. I popped some of them up on Stampin' Dimensionals and added a fallen little flower at the base of the stem :-). Even though I missed posting this in time for the actual challenge, I thought I would share it anyway :-). Have a wonderful day today! I hope the sun is shining bright where you live and that the day is warm!

Blessings!

Barb

Supplies:

Paper: Pretty in Pink-100459, Night of Navy-100867, Very Vanilla-101650

Stamps: Because I Care-120118

Classic Stampin' Ink: Night of Navy-102977, Pretty in Pink101301, Old Olive-102277

Punches: Itty Bitty Shapes-118309

Other: Stampin' Dimensionals-104430

Stampin' Celebration Challenge #45

I decided to participate again, in this week's Stampin' Celebration Challenge :-). I rarely do black and white cards, actually, I rarely use black at all. I'm not really sure why I don't use black all that much because it really adds elegance to everything. From the challenge photo, I chose as my main focus, the cake with the black and white flowers and the black line around the cake. The flowers on the cake have black stamens and black centers. To give the illusion of the stamens, I stamped only the bottom part of medium flower petal in the Build a Blossom set. I punched out the petal shape with the corresponding Blossom Petals punch. Since the colors in the overall challenge photo uses neutral colors, I inked the edges of my flower petals with Crumb Cake. 

I used swirls behind my flower because there are swirls on the candy and on the tablecloth in the challenge photo. For the inside of the card, I stuck with the clean lines from the cake. I punched the corners and added a 1/4" strip of black. Later, I can add some elements to the left of the black line and add a sentiment or a hand written note to the right of the black line.

I'm glad that I participated in this challenge because it gave me a chance to use a color that I hardly ever use. Maybe I will start using black more often :-D. I hope everyone's week is off to a wonderful start and that the rest of your week is blessed! See you tomorrow!

Blessings!

Barb

Supplies:

Paper: Whisper White-100730, Basic Black-121045

Classic Stampin' Ink: Crumb Cake-121030

Stampin' Write Marker: Basic Black-100082

Stamps: Build a Blossom-121994, Teeny Tiny Wishes-115370

Punches: Blossom Petals-121808, 3/4" Circle-119873

Dies: Swirls Scribbles-113441

Textured Impressions Embossing Folder: Perfect Polka Dots-117335

The Paper Players Challenge

Sometimes I like to participate in challenges. It helps to make you think a little differently when you're creating within a 'specific' framework, so I have three challenge cards that I did yesterday. This one today is for The Paper Players Challenge and is Challenge #39.

It looks fairly masculine to me :-). Have a great day everyone!!

Blessings!

Barb

Supplies:
Paper: Night of Navy-100867, Crumb Cake-120953, Very Vanilla-101650, Cherry Cobbler Textured-119690

Classic Stampin' Ink: Night of Navy-102977, Crumb Cake-121030

Stamps: Sense of Time-113804, Whimsical Words- 119119 (retired SAB 2010)

Punches: 1 3/4" Scallop Circle-119854

Stampin' Celebration Challenge

I guess that being cooped up in the house sick, isn't all that bad when you have time to surf blogs :-). I went to visit Allison's blog this afternoon and she has a challenge photo posted from Stampin' Celebration. I clicked on it to check it out and the napkin ring in the photo totally 'intrigued' me. Hmmmm, intrigued by a napkin ring... do ya' think I'm getting bored hanging out at home for a week straight? I used the Lattice die to cut out the vine part of the napkin ring in the photo inspiration and cut out the center with scissors. It was a matter of punching out a bunch of leaves from a heart punch and then punching out some blossoms, inking their edges, and then gluing the whole thing together. I wish I had inked the leaves too, but I just didn't think of it before I glued :-(. Sigh. There were some really pretty, round amber glass beads, mixed into the vine and the leaves in the napkin ring, so I added some amber rhinestones too.

Okay, so card front done, what to do about the sentiment.... Looked at the photo again and in another part of the photo is a little soap box with script writing in brown. Ah Hah! Looked through all my sentiments to find a script one and the right size font to fit onto my die cut. Found one! It just happened to be a wedding sentiment and wouldn't you know it? A gal in my women's Bible Study JUST got married! Ha! A happy camper am I!

Now on to the inside of the card. This is one of my favorite marriage sentiments, so I stamped it in Early Espresso. It needed something else though, so I added the little stamp in the corner and it happens that it's a pretty good match for the front. What a great day! I watercolored it with some ink and a blender pen with colors that match the wreath on the front of the card.

Oh my gosh, I am suddenly starving! I think I'm starting to feel better. My ears have been popping all day and my husband thinks that it's because this stuff is starting to break up. Gotta love the doctor for giving me some awesome anti-biotics :-D. They are the size of horse pills and a high dose so I guess they are doing their job. Maybe this hacky cough will be gone tomorrow! I have barely eaten all week, I think I'm gonna head into the kitchen :-D. Have a great day!

Blessings!

Barb  

PS- I have posts scheduled clear into next week and I was sick in bed when I was writing them up, so if you read that I feel really icky- please disregard. I do feel better right now, so it should be uphill from here :-).

Supplies:

Paper: Pear Pizzazz-119795, Very Vanilla-101650, More Mustard-100946, Old Olive-100702, Soft Suede-115318

Classic Stampin' Ink: More Mustard-103162, Early Espresso-119670

Stamps: Teeny Tiny Wishes-115370, Gods' Blessings-114972, Sweet Summer-123214

Punches: Modern Label-119849, Heart to Heart-119881, Ticket Corner-119867, Trio Flowers- retired :-(

Dies: Lattice-115958, Lots of Tags-114508, Beautiful Wings-118138

Textured Impressions embossing folder: Vintage Wallpaper-120175

Other: 1/4" circle punch, amber rhinestones