"Anything But a Card".....Carried Away with This Week's Stamp Ink Paper Challenge

Well, this is my 4th and final week as a Guest Designer with the Stamp Ink Paper Design Team...

and as the saying goes...

I am going out with a bang!

I have had such a fun time "guesting" with the Stamp Ink Paper Design Team...
and am kinda sad to see my month with the team come to an end with this weeks challenge project.

Each of the challenge topics during my first 3 weeks have been wonderful..

and with this week's challenge..... "Anything But a Card" 

I had lots of fun putting my creative metal to the pedal

and..

somehow...I got a little carried away...

I started out with the intention of creating a little goodie and/or gift card bag.

Emphasis on "a"..."a little goodie bag" ..."a" as in ONE goodie bag.

And somehow...

I got carried away...

and THIS is what happened....

Yep...
I gained momentum...like a runaway train... 

I just couldn't stop myself from making these adorable little bags 

and somehow...I wound up with 3 "Anything But a Card" projects!

Here's what happened...

I thought...

Hmmm....Easter is coming..

let me do an Easter-y project for this week's challenge...

So..

I got out my Taylored Expressions Sack-It dies...

Some card stock and print paper...

My GEMINI die cutting machine...adhesives etc...

and I created this cutie...

Yes, I even created the fill inside of the bag...and the other 2 bags

because the obsessive person that I am HAD to have the crinkly filler in each bag

match the color of the little characters on each bag.

I had so much fun creating the bunny....

and then...I thought..

Hmmmm....St. Patrick's Day is coming...

Maybe I'll create a little bag for St Patrick's Day

and...

this is what I wound up with!

His hat buckle was die cut using deep gold shimmery metallic card stock..

and his pipe was die cut with wood grain card stock...

I brushed some color onto his cheeks with Clarity Stencil brushes and an ink pad.

His green hat was also die cut with metallic card stock...

A great deep green color metallic card stock.

and...because I was having so much fun creating the first 2 bags...

I felt like creating a 3rd..

and then I thought...

Hmmmm....Easter....(again)...

Yes!...I'll make another Easter-y bag...

and this is what I came up with for the 3rd..and final little bag.

I love this little chick!

His belly was die cut with ivory metallic card stock...

and...although it's difficult to see in this photo...

this little chick has a scraggly plume of little feathers sticking up off of the top of his head...

Oh! There it is...

you can see it in this photo...

What a fun way to finish up as Guest Designer with the Stamp Ink Paper Design Team

and their awesome weekly challenges!

Now, it's time for YOU to visit  the Stamp Ink Paper Blog HERE ...

to see all of the Design Team member challenge projects...

as well as the projects of those who may have entered already.

While y;the there...soak up a little bit of inspiration  from everyone's project....

Then ...get out your own supplies...to create something that is "Anything But a Card"

and..when your project is complete...

Don't forget to share a photo at the Stamp Ink Paper Blog!

Thanks for visiting my crafty and creative friends...

and for sharing in my month-long fun time "Guesting" 

with the wonderful and very talented Stamp Ink Paper Design Team!

Have a great day!

Michelle.

A Quickie Blog Post...2 Cards and 700+ Stamp Sets...ORGANIZED!

I'm spending the day today doing some rearranging and organizing on my studio...

hoping to finish up a "job" that I had started a few days ago.

On Friday night I took my stamp sets out of their usual organized places (drawers)...

and did a re-sorting and tidying up...of almost 700 stamp sets.

I only worked on stamps that weren't Stampin Up...

I'll do the Stampin Up sets another time.

In the 700 stamp sets that I worked on...

there were approximately 100 new sets that were just stacked up on the studio...

either on the worktable...or in a big basket...

They had never been put away because I didn't have any empty drawer space.

So...I ordered some new drawers...that were delivered on Friday....

and I was excited to get this little job done...

I spent 4 hours sorting...and categorizing 

(I added a few new categories & eliminated a few others)

and when ALL of the stamps were sorted....into different categories...

I put them back into the drawers that I had kept them in...and expanded into the 9 new drawers.

Each drawer is labelled..

and now..I am set to go!

I know here each and every stamp set is!

YAY!

What a great feeling!

So now you know what I have been up to!

I also spent a little bit of time creating a few cards...

with 2 different Stampin Up stamp set images that I like...a lot.

I used Copic markers to color each image..

Some prints from a nice DCWV Paper Pad..

Metallic card stock for matting

and also for die cutting the Hero Arts "Prayers" sentiment

A little bit of background color was added with Clarity Stencil brushes and an ink pad.

And this is what I wound up with....

First....

an image you have seen here at my blog countless times...

The large floral image from Stampin Up's You've Got This stamp set.

I love green and purple together when creating garden-like or floral cards

and next...

another favorite of mine...

the floral image from Stampin Up's Gift of Love stamp set.

I'll be sending one of these to a friend who is struggling with health issues right now...

I'll hope that receiving this card...and knowing that she is being thought of in prayer...

will feel like a warm, loving hug to her.

and...

Now..I'm heading out to my studio...

to see what else I can accomplish with my little organization project.

and then...

I will finish stamping out some more images...

for a new stack of 100 stamped images...that I'll work on the week.

Yes...my other stack of 100 images is almost gone....

I can hardly believe it!

The new stack will be "on the road" with me this week...

"On the road"???

Yep...On The Road!

So stay tuned and be sure to check in here at my blog this week...

 to see what's in store for this weeks crafty "on the road"adventures!

Have a beautiful Sunday....my crafty and creative friends...

Michelle

A Favorite Flower.....A few Thank You Cards

Recognize this flower?

Of course you do!

It's one of my favorites...seen now and then.. here at my blog

I had a few of them stamped out and colored 

in my infamous stack of 100 stamped and colored images...

and I thought that I'd create a few Thank You cards  with them.

The flower image is from Stampin Up's You've Got This stamp set

and the die cut "Thanks" is Hero Arts Thanks Stamp & Die set

The die cut Thanks and mat layers behind each colored flower image

were cut using metallic card stock.

Coloring was done with Copic and Spectrum Noir Alcohol Markers.

Background color was brushed on with Clarity Stencil Brushes and ink pads.

First up....

a beautiful orange flower with a bronze metallic "Thanks...and mat layer behind the image.

I LOVE the print  used on this card...found in a DCWV 12 x 12 paper pad

The bronze metallic mat and "Thanks" are a nice contrast to the coral/orange-like print.

This bronze version is my daughter's favorite in todays grouping of 3 cards.

 Next....

a second orange toned flower...

this time with a different print...and double matting with orange and ivory metallic card stock.

The "Thanks" was die cut using the same orange metallic card stock.

I love this lace-look print taken from a DCWV 12 x 12 paper pad......

I'll be sad to use the last sheet of it.

(and m already on the hunt for  12 x 12 sheets of print paper that is similar.

(So far...no luck...but I haven't given up)

and...

the third and final card....

This time...a yellow flower...

same print...and same double matting with the orange and ivory metallic card stock...

and orange metallic "Thanks"

My little stack of 100 stamped and colored images is dwindling...

I've thoroughly enjoyed having that stack....and choosing groups of colored images to work on.

Creating this way is ideal for me..being that I am a lover of creating in multiples...

but also like the multiples to be slightly different...

or as I always says...

Similar ...but different.

Soon....it will be time to have a "coloring week"...to create a new stack of 100...

I'm looking forward to a new stack...

I'll stamp out another 100 images...

in groups of 5 or 6 each...

and will spend a week relaxing....and coloring each image...

and then when they're all colored

I will dive into making cards with all of the colored images!

Thanks for stopping by, my crafty and creative friends...

Wishing you a wonderful day!

Michelle.

One Die...One Flower...and an Assortment of Prints and Sentiments

When I used this rectangle eyelet die a few days ago...

I knew...right away....that I liked it ...a lot.

So..when I was tidying up the studio...

I left the die out on the studio worktable...

with a plan to use it again...on a few cards.

And...that's exactly what I did.

This time, though...

I went to my stack of 100 stamped and colored images

and pulled out all of the Altenew flower images that I had colored 

from the One of a Kind stamp set.

I had 9 purple flowers...ready to go...

I chose some print paper..

and... I cut 9 of the eyelet rectangle  die with my GEMINI die cutting machine

(The eyelet die is from a company that is no longer in business...

which is why I'm not providing the company name)

My style of card making is CAS (Clean And Simple)

and so my plan...and my vision of the completed cards was to keep it very CAS.

In the end...I had 9 cards...

with an assortment of 4 sentiments.

I used Hero Arts Stamp set CL342 for all of the sentiments

except the Happy Birthday....which is a Stampin Up sentiment from the And Many More  stamp set

I'm very happy with how each of the cards turned out!

Very CAS....

or as I like to say....

very CCAS

Clean Crisp And Simple

First up....

A Happy Birthday card...I created 3 of this card....

Birthday cards are the cards that I never seem to have enough of on hand...
Adding 3 birthday cards to my card stash is always a good thing!

(This is the card that has the Stampin Up sentiment)

On each of the cards...the eyelet die cut pieces and the matted image layers 

were all positioned with fun foam for a nice sturdy lift.

I hand cut the sentiment banners..matted them...and positioned them with small foam dimensionals

All of the mats were cut and created with deep purple metallic card stock.

I added some Pretty Pink Posh Sparkling Clear Sequins

from The Stamp Ink Paper Store

I needed some Happy Anniversary cards for my stash...

so I created 2 of this card...

I love the crispness of the purple, green and white together...

The eyelet pieces were cut using white metallic card stock....

so they have a little bit of a shimmery shine

I also made 2 sympathy cards....

I've still got the purple green and white combo going on here...(YAY!)

with a little bit of green coming from the flower.

and...

the 4th card...

(the last one in the group of 9)

is a Get Well card...

also one of those cards that I never seem to have enough of.

I created 2 of this card.

I always love a nice crisp plaid...

(and dots...my other favorite print...mini dots...and medium dots...

But large dots?....not so much )

I am loving this eyelet die...

and was really happy to create this stack of 9 cards... 

each with this beautifully detailed rectangle eyelet die cut mat.

I mentioned this the other day, here at my blog, when I used this die for the first time....

but I'll mention it now...again today...

I used my GEMINI die cutting machine to cut all of the eyelet mats.

W O W

The GEMINI is amazing.

One pass through the machine and this heavy weight metallic card stock was die cut to perfection...

Every little die cut hole that you see on that eyelet mat layer was cut perfectly...

with just one pass through the machine!

When the die exited at the other end of the machine...

all of the tiny little pieces fell out of the holes in the eyelet piece.

No poking tool needed.

What a dream!

So...now you know what I have been up to...

(Having fun with this great eyelet die)

Now I need to think about what I want to do next..

I still have some images left in my infamous stack of 100 stamped and colored images...

So I am thinking that I'll browse through the stack..and pick out a few images to work with next!
Or....
Maybe I'll start making Easter cards....
Decisions...decisions...

Thanks for visiting my crafty and creative friends...

have a wonderful day!

Michelle.

Stamp Ink Paper Challenge ~ Kindness

I can't believe that this is week 3 as a Guest designer with the Stamp Ink paper Design Team.

It's true when they say..."Time flies when you're having fun!"

This is a delightful team...a wonderful "leader"...and the Challenge topics are always fun!

This week..the Weekly Stamp Ink Paper Challenge topic is...

"Kindness"

and....
 I've got a little bit of Springtime to share with my "Kindness " project!

What better way to recognize a signal of Spring's arrival than with beautiful, bright yellow daffodils.

So today...in anticipation of Spring arriving...soon...(I hope!)

I've created my "Kindness" card with

 Sunny Studios Daffodil Dreams Photopolymer Stamp Set and Die Duo

I used 3 different yellow toned ink pads  (Stampin Up and Altenew)

for the layered daffodil stamping...

Die cutting the stamped flowers was a cinch!

I used the Hero Arts "Thanks" Stamp & Die Set to create a 2-part sentiment.

Background color was added with ink pads and Clarity Stencil Brushes

Nuvo drops in yellow an orange were the perfect little embellishments to finish this card. 

You can see lots of  dimension in this photo...

I positioned the Thanks die cut with rolled glue dots...

and used foam dimensionals on the daffodils and the rectangle sentiment piece.

The image was triple matted...with green...gold...and orange metallic card stock... 

and the matted piece was positioned with a piece of self adhesive  fun foam..cut to size

This was a fun challenge...

and brought a little dose of Springtime into my studio!

How about joining us for this week's challenge?

Create your own "Kindness" card...

and share it with us over at the Stamp Ink Paper Challenge

You'll find the challenge...DT Challenge projects...the link for sharing your project...

and challenge projects from participating card makers HERE .

Thanks for visiting... my crafty and creative friends!

Have a wonderful day!

Michelle.

Quickie Cards in Flash!

A few weeks ago....
I found some fantastic St. Patrick's themed 12 x 12 print paper 

at Scrap-A-Latte ....a wonderful  local stamp and scrap shop.

The owner, Renee, has a great eye for beautiful print paper...

and I always looks forward to stopping in at the shop to check out her latest acquisitions!

And...as it always seems to go....

some of the double sided paper had something wonderful on both sides...

so I picked up extras of those 1 2 x 12's.

One of the sheets had a great little journal card style print.

Some great prints...and some great sayings & quotes.

I had fun creating this group of cards....

No ink...no stamping...no coloring...

Just me...the 12 x 12's...some card stock...
a die & a die cutting machine...a trimmer...and my ATG gun!

Fun...simple...and easy...

And this is what I wound up with....

Caution: Lots of photos coming up....

This one cracked me up....

The base card here is smaller  than a standard A2 card...

and the mattered quote layer extends beyond the card base...on  each side

And this one was my sweethearts favorite.

Cute...perfect for me....a meatball rolling -sauce stirring Italian girl

I love this one because I used a pretty eyelet die as a mat layer....

(Sadly...the company that made this die went out of business...)

I've had this die for a long time...and this was the first time I used it...

and...I am smitten....

 It was love at first sight!

Simple...and nice....

(Info about the clover die follows below)

My sweetheart 's favorite quote again...

same quote...different sketch..print paper...and matting

It's always a nice card ...when a banner is included...

Very sweet quote.

Here's another card made with  that smaller base card again...

haha...cute....

I used this four leaf clover on a few cards the other day..

There were lots of inquiries about this die..

If you're liking it...and want to check it out....

The die info is: Four Leaf Clover....by Frantic Stamper.

and here's my favorite quote again...

this time with the pretty eyelet die cut mat lawyer that I love so much 

I created duplicate cards with of a few of the cut "journal cards....

and now...I believe that I have more than enough St Patrick's Day cards in my card stash

I'm so glad that I picked up a few of this  style 12 x 12 print...

It was a fun and easy...and speedy way to make a few cards...

Nothing fancy...

just a few basic cards...

This leaves me with an interest in purchasing more 12 x 12's t

that have the "journal card" print on one side...

I see that paper...and I see card making  possibilities!

I wound up liking that eyelet die a lot....

so I've left it out on the studio worktable...

and I plan on making some more cards with it  soon.

Thanks so much for visiting today....

Wishing you a wonderful day that's sprinkled with happiness and a little bit of creativity!

Michelle.

Dino-Mite Birthday Cards

Finally....

I've got some boy-friendly cards to share!

(My card stash is in desperate need of boy-friendly cards...

so WHY am I always creating girly cards?)

Well..with the three cards that I am sharing today..

I will at least I have 3 more boy-ish cards to add to my stash now!

I created the 3 cards with stamped images and  a sentiment 

from the Taylored Expressions Dino-Mite stamp set.

The dinosaur images were colored with Copic and Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers.

The leathery look of the dinosaur's skin was created by adding and blending Polychromos pencil coloring over the Alcohol marker coloring. 

Background color was brushed on with Clarity Stencil Brushes & ink pads

I double matted the image layer on green...and bronze metallic card stock.

Part of the sentiment is stamped on the image layer...

and part of it was stamped, cut out...and positioned with foam dimensionals.

I added a few Nuvo Drops in orange and brown.

I am happy with the colors on the images...and the backgrounds on each of the cards....

But I did change the color of the Dino_mite sentiment piece on the next 2 cards.

I'm very organized in my studio..

and was feeling frustrated about not being able to find a stamp that is an image of a small patch of grass...

I wanted to stamp the patch of grass to the left of the large dinosaur.

I'm not giving up, though..

as soon as I put my hands on that patch of grass stamp...

I'll add a little grass to each card.

(PS..I switched from brown to green when adding color to the Dino-mite sentiment piece.

The brown just seemed t0o blah...and hum drum...and iy didn't stand out enough.

Green seems better...what do you think?)

So now I have 3 more boy-friendly cards to ad to my pathetically small stash of boy-birthday-cards.

But hey...it's 3 more than I had yesterday!

right?

Thanks for visiting today my crafty friends...

Don't be shy about leaving me comments below..

I know that I get lots and lots of visitors 

(my daily blog count tells me that)

But you''re a very quiet bunch!

So consider this an invitation to comment comment comment!

I love and appreciate your comments...

ALL of them!

Have a wonderful Sunday!

Michelle.

Pretty Birthday Ballerinas

I usually do straight up card cutting...

standard A2 cards...

and I almost always use them in the vertical position.

BUT....

I thought that I'd dig into my shaped card dies..and see what I might have...

to switch things up a bit.

I realized that I have quite a few card dies...

almost all have never been used!

Never  Ever!

Well!!

I needed to do something about that!

So I chose a Drop-Ins Card and Die set by Stephanie Bernard's...The Stamps of Life

I wasn't interested in using any of the accessory dies..

I just wanted to use the scalloped card die.

I had 2 ballerinas ready to roll...

in my stack of 100 stamped and colored images..

(which by the way is now a stack of approximately 30 or 40 stamped and colored images.)

I am so happy!...I have really been using and enjoying that stack of images!

I've made lots of cards these last  few weeks!

So...

anyway...

I cut the scalloped cards...

and the mat layers...

Matted the ballerina each image...

put put the cards....with ribbon... together...

added happy birthday to the inside of the card..

and wha-la!

Two sweet little birthday cards...

perfect for little girl gift giving!

The stamped image is MFT's Tutu Cute (My Favorite Things)

For the first cards...

I chose a bright pink tone on tone print...

I'm so glad that I FINALLY used this card die...

The scalloped edge is nice...for a change...

and the eyelet detail makes it perfect for feminine..or little girl cards.

For the second card..I went with a lighter pink ....a print....

and of course my love of small dots 

led me to choose some sheer light pink and white dotted ribbon

for each card.

And now ...with both cards finished...

I have a question for myself...

WHY have I not used this scalloped card die before...

???

Thanks for visiting today, my crafty and creative friends....

Have a wonderful Saturday!

Michelle.

A Few More Cards for St. Patty's Day

While I had all of my St Patty's paper...stamps and card stock out on the studio worktable

I thought that I'd create a few cards with a nice sentiment stamp 

that I've never used.

(Sorry...I have no idea where I found this wonderful stamp ...it as somewhere....on line)

It's a naked red rubber stamp...no EZ mount/cling...no packaging...no markings on the rubber...)

What I do know is..

I like it...

When I visited Scrap-A Latte a few weeks ago...

I picked up some really pretty St Patrick's Day 12 x 12 print paper...

I wanted to use all of it...haha

So..being that I like this sentient so much...

I decided to create the same card...with an assortment of the prints.

I've got a bunch of photos to share...Not because the cards are different...

(They're all the same)

But..because I wanted  you to see the prints...

 All of the prints are double sided....One side is nicer than the other

It was difficult to choose which side I wanted to use!

I also wanted to use my favorite shamrock die..(by Frantic Stamper)
For the shamrock....I used my GEMINI die cutting machine to do the die cutting

The GEMINI is amazing!

One pass through the machine and the shamrock was cut and embossed perfectly...
even with using heavy weight metallic card stock.

Shamrocks are always a "must" for St Patrick's Day...

or Irish blessing cards

This Celtic print is so pretty...
All of the die cut shamrocks were made with green metallic card stock...
They have a nice shimmer.

Another nice print...

The colors are so nice....

Such a great green...

And the details on the shamrock is also really nice.

This print has tiny little shamrocks and beer steins and polka dots...

So cute!

And finally...

this terrific stripe with stitching detail.

Love it!

And, as you can see...

I really love this beautiful sentiment..

(Being that I created a bunch of cards with it!)

Think that I'm pretty much set for St Patrick's day now...

I've got about a dozen cards..

which is a dozen more St Patty's Day cards than I had a few days ago!

So...what do you think?

Did you have a favorite print after seeing these cards?

Thanks for visiting today...

Have a wonderful day, my crafty and creative friends!

Michelle.