A Christmas Cardinal

Hi there!  Today the sun is shining - finally!  A little bit of snow is predicted for tomorrow morning and cloudy skies.  Ugh!  Anyway...today's card was inspired by my friend and former upline, Pam D'Urso.  Years ago, she sent us a Christmas card similar to the one above.  I always wanted to re-create her card and this was the year.  Plus, it was perfect for our Card Buffet. 

Must get going to finish some things around here.  Thanks for taking the time to stop by today!

 

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Ornamental Pine (sentiment) 

Paper: Always Artichoke, Real Red, Black, Crushed Curry, Vanilla 

Ink: Memento Black, Versamark, White Chalk Pen 

Tools:  1-3/4” Circle Punch, 1” Square Punch, Bird Punch (wing), Fun Fall Framelits (leaf for tail) 

Other:  Dimensionals

Modified Split Negative Technique

Hi there!  Gosh, it's already the middle of the week and there's still a lot to do to get ready for another crop on Saturday and attend a shower on Sunday!  Yesterday was our monthly Hostess Club meeting.  One of the projects the ladies made is shown above.  My inspiration came from Deb Valder's video, which can be viewed here.  It's the Split Negative technique, modified.  The stamped square from the Postage Due set is only 1-1/8".  It is easier to have the inked stamp face up on your work surface and place the squares onto the stamp.  This can get a little messy removing the squares, though.  Deb has a great tip on how to remove the squares from the stamp without getting inky fingers.  She wrapped a piece of painter's tape around her fingers (like you would to get lint off your clothes) and just picked up the squares with the tape.  Very clever!
The ladies liked the projects.  I'm so glad because I really appreciate their loyalty and support!  Thank you again, ladies!  Afterwards, we had a leisurely lunch and talked. You're kidding, right?  Women sitting around talking!  LOL

Must get busy on some household chores and determine what to take to the crop.  Thank you so much for stopping by today!

All Stampin' Up! supplies used unless otherwise noted. 

Stamps: Postage Due 

Paper: Black, Smoky Slate, White, scrap paper 

Ink: Smoky Slate 

Tools:  1-3/8” Square punch (retired), 1-1/4” Square punch (retired) 

Other:  Painters tape

What a Grouch!

 
Hi there!  Hope you've been having a good weekend.  Today I had a chance to play in the studio rather than work on projects.  Guess it's all playing really.  It's a tough job but somebody has to do it!  lol
A while back my friend issued a challenge to come up with an Oscar the Grouch card.  Thought I had that covered... but no, she wanted him in a trash can.  Plus, some of the punches used in the past to make Oscar have since retired - so I had to figure out what current tools could be used.  The above card is the result of today's efforts.
The trash can is made from a 2" x 3" piece of gray card stock with a bit of the top nipped out with the Extra-Large Oval punch (Wide Oval).  I also cut a 1" x 3" strip of gray.  These were then run through the Big Shot in the Stripes embossing folder.  The edges were inked with Black, then the 1" piece was adhered to the top-back portion of the trash can.  Oscar is on Dimensionals.  The "bottle" was punched from the jewelry tag punch, trimmed at the neck, and chalked around the edges for some definition.  The "newspaper trash" is scrap First Edition DSP, crumpled and distressed with Black ink.  Black ink was also used on the card base to tone down the White.  After all, Oscar lives in a dingy area!

Oscar:
Head = Gumball Green 1-3/4" scallop circle punch
Eyebrows =  square punch - double punched and trimmed
Eyes = Owl punch (largest circle in White, medium circle in Black)
Mouth =  Black Small Oval, trimmed in half horizontially
Tongue = Real Red Large Oval (cut off about 1/4" on one end to use as the tongue)

Stamp:  Wacky Wishes
Paper:  Gumball Green, Chocolate Chip, White, Black, Gray, Real Red, First Edition DSP
Ink:  Black
Other: White gel pen, jewelry tag punch, scallop circle punch, square punch, owl punch, oval punches, Stripes embossing folder, Dimensionals

Enjoy what's left of the weekend and thanks for checking in today!

Stamp Camp Card #3

Hi there and happy Wednesday!  You know what that means - stamping with my peeps day!  But first, here is another Camp card from this past weekend.

Stamps: Bring on the Cake (W-121899, C-121958)

Paper: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Black, Mocha Morning Specialty DSP (122366 - avail until May 31, 2012)

Ink: Black

Tools:  1-1/4” square punch (to nip out tail on flag), 1/8" hole punch or poker tool

Other:  Black brads, template for brad placement, pencil

Inspiration: Mary Fish     http://www.stampinpretty.com

A little tip to make a template to evenly space your brads.  Cut a piece of copy paper the same size as the card stock that will have the brads.  Fold copy paper in half to get the center point.  Then measure equal distances  on each side of the center point - in this case it was 3/4" and make a mark.  Punch holes where marked.  Now use the copy paper template to transfer markings onto a piece of scrap card stock and punch the holes.  Voila! You now have a more durable template to equally space those brads.

Must run.  Have a wonderful day and thanks for checking my blog today!