The golden peaches of Samarkand

My husband been has reading up on the history of the Silk Road, so when I asked him for a crafting prompt (I just like being challenged!) he suggested the golden peaches of Samarkand. Along with a sketch from Less is More and photo inspiration from Stampin' Royalty, I was inspired to make this CAS card featuring the Flutter Tree die set from Spellbinders.

I cut the tree 3 times, once from a gold cardstock (I used the same gold for the butterflies) & twice from a textured white paper. I inked the bottom tree a solid orangey-color, but used 3 orange inks for the top tree.The background is three pieces of bright white paper; The bottom piece is completely dry-embossed, the middle layer is just flat, and I carefully embossed only a portion of the top layer. Inspired by the sketch & theme, I made a sort of migration pattern out of the gold butterflies. The sentiment was stamped in black on a banner die cut from more of the textured white paper & inked with a marigold-yellow ink. I'm pleased with the result.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Less is More #278: Sketch
Stampin' Royalty #331: Photo Inspiration

Thanks for stopping by,

Dragon Balloon Birthday - Pilin' on the Tic-Tac-Toe

The theme this fortnight at Pile It On is Tic-Tac-Toe. We're sponsored by Eureka Stamps.

I used the first column from our PIO Tic-Tac-Toe board: Balloon, baker's Twine, Stripes.

This accordion card was inspired by a tutorial from Me & My Big Ideas; I made a matching birthday card for his brother this year.

Although this features bold designs, I wanted to feature the Dragon Balloon from Eureka Stamps' unique line of shaped balloon images.

The balloons are from an Elizabeth Draft die set, and the vehicles are from Taylored Expressions' "Transportation Little Bits" set. The sentiment stamp is from Jillibean Soup, and I heat-embossed it in neon yellow.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper: Anything goes with Patterned Paper (2nd entry)
Tuesday Throwdown: For a Child
Just Add Ink: Add anything starting with B (balloons)
QKR Stampede: Birthday Cards
WOW Embossing Powder Challenge: Anything Goes with Embossing Powder

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting! Hope you'll join us at Pile It On,

Animals at Crafting with Dragonflies

This fortnight at Crafting with Dragonflies we want to see your Cards with Animals.

Although I hesitate at making circus-themed cards these days (and I really don't mind the trend towards fazing out traditional zoos & animal acts), I just couldn't resist making this card.

The sentiments, from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps, were heat-embossed in neon green & stamped again in blue dye ink to create a shadow effect. I put it directly onto this circle-patterned DP from my stash.The seals & elephant were dry-embossed and/or die-cut in my BigShot. I used a shiny, textured blue paper inked with blue ink for the seals; I colored white die-cuts with a fluorescent yellow Copic marker to make shadows. The elephant is cut from another stash DP, that I colored with the same fluorescent yellow marker. I used a QuicKutz die to make the loopy borders. THe star paper is also from my stash. For the base, I embossed a blue cardstock with a bubbly folder.

Inspiration/Challenges:
CAS-ual Fridays: Birthday Boy+ CAS-ual Fridays stamps
House That Stamps Built: Sketch #2516
Twofers Challenge #20: Animals + stamping + No digital images



Thank you for visiting, and hope you'll join us at Crafting with Dragonflies,

Free to pee, you and me

Although there are so many important issues that we should be addressing, some people have lost their minds and have driven this country into a weird conversation about who should use what bathroom. I think my mom put it best when she said, Why is this such a deal? Transgender people have been using the bathroom for centuries! I've used many a bathroom under many a circumstance; transgender folks have never made me feel uncomfortable, if I even notice, and the worst I've ever gotten from using the "wrong" restroom is a surprised look from behind a urinal. Much of life's little problems can be solved with this one simple rule: Eyes forward!

Anyhoo, this seemed like another perfect opportunity to use Viva Las VegaStamps' "Man & Woman Symbol" rubber stamp. When I decided to make this card, I promised myself I wouldn't use the color brown. But once that promise was broken (I couldn't resist using this yellow//brown, flower/streaked double-sided DP) I just went all-out with the color!

I was inspired by the universal access sign. The circle on the front was die-cut from a lime-green colored box. I made the triangle stamp from foam, and stamped it with Peanut Brittle Memento dye ink. I stamped the gender symbols with watermark ink & heat-embossed the stamp with fluorescent yellow WOW! embossing powder.

For the inside circle, I covered a white cardstock with actual (brand-new) toilet paper. The triangle was stamped in yellow and the pee folk in Peanut Brittle brown.

Although I can easily make my own digital sentiments, I enjoy using my physical stamp collection. The sentiment on the outside is from Verve Stamps, and the speech bubble die cut is from Latina Crafter. The sentiment on the inside is from Graphic 45. The sentiments were stamped in Vintage Photo and Crushed Olive distress inks, respectively.

The edges of the inside sentiment piece & the left-hand panel on the front were embossed in my BigShot; honestly, I chose this embossing folder for its slightly phallic design!

I used a Prima distressing tool to roughen the edges of the patterned papers. I edged all the pieces with Desert Sand Memento dye ink.

Inspiration/Challenges:
The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers: Fugly (yellow/brown DP + plus this whole situation is pretty fugly)
Tuesday Morning Sketches: Sketch #353
Viva Las VegaStamps May Challenge: Inspiration Board (distressing, subversive humor, common sense triumphing over fearful reactions)
WordArt Wednesdays: Family Friendly/Anything Goes

Update: Many thanks to everyone for their supportive comments! My mom actually bought this card! I was chosen as a "Princess of Snark" at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers.

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting!

Flaggin'

Here's a card I made with Quick Quotes Coral ink, Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and some fun background stamps (Kaisercraft & Stampendous). The sentiment is from an IndigoBlu set & the cars are from Taylored Expressions' "Transportation Little Bits" set.

Inspiration/Challenges:
colourQ: Color Inspiration #343
Two Paper Divas: Sketch

Thanks for stopping by,

Simply Water Balloons

I was intrigued by the "Something that Pops or Bangs" challenge at Less is More; after mulling it over, I decided to try my hand at using a Water Balloon theme. This is my first attempt, I think it came out pretty well and will definitely return to this idea.

I started by stamping the sentiment (from Recollections' Color Splash collection) in green on a smooth cardstock. I die-cut a balloon with an Elizabeth Craft die from foam, adhered the foam shape to a stamp block with tape, and stamped the shape 3 times using a Martha Stewart ink set. Then I added the splashes with a TH stencil & blue ink from the same ink set. I glued some scraps of a green textured cardstock behind the white panel, and glued it all onto a white card base. I especailly like how the red balloon came out.

Inspiration/Challenges:
CAS(E) This Sketch!: CASE Sketch #173 + CAS
Fashionable Stamping Challenge #111: Blots/Splashes + stamping
Less is More #277: Something that Pops or Bangs (water balloons)

Thank you for visiting & inspiring my crafting!

Wonderful City Life

Here's a cheerful card that I might use for Father's Day.

The city stamps (Mark's Finest Papers) are heat-embossed in my own blend of white & blue powders onto a yellow paper. I filled in the windows with a mahogany Copic. The bird trio (ArtsyFartsy Stamps) is stamped in blue. The sentiment (Recollections) is stamped onto a wood-patterned paper. I cut the " hills" from white paper with a treeline die (MFT); I cut off the trees & inked the pieces with Sprout green ink (Memento). The vehicles are from Taylored Expressions' "Transportation Little Bits" set; I cut them from white & colored them with different inks.

Inspiration/Challenges:
The Male Room #35: Transport
YNS Challenge #39: Colors (I was also inspired by the photo)

Thanks for stopping by,

Diorama Charm -- Creative Upcycling + Stash with the UnstampaBelles

The UnstampaBelles May challenge is Creative Upcycling with the twist of Use something you've had in your craftroom for a year or more. You can make whatever you like without using any stamps.

May diorama charm was inspired by this upcycled necklace, and depicts our house & neighborhood.

click images to enlarge

I painted the inside of the plastic cap with glittery black paint, drilled holes in it with my Dremel, andcovered the sides with a glittery black tape. The cityscape was cut on my Silhouette Cameo; the treeline was cut with a MFT die in my BigShot. The fence & squirrel were die-cut from shiny white Shrinky Dink plastic and shrunk in my toaster oven. The pieces were inked with alcohol & distress inks. For the flat side, I colored a wood veneer house with Copic markers and adhered it onto a purple paper circle. I used a glitter pen to make a dotted boarder, and added rub-on sentiments from Tim Holtz.  The rose bead was heat-embossed with a purple powder. The double-sided silver charm is from my stash.

Be sure to check out the fabulous projects by my teamies and hope you'll join us this month at UnstampaBelles!


Thank you for visiting,

Keep On Truck'n

When I saw this adorable truck die that came with Taylored Expressions' "Transportation Little Bits" set, I knew I would have to make a "Keep on truck'n" card. (Yes, I know my spelling of "truck'n" is up for debate, but it looked better on the card!)

The left-hand border is made with the "Retro" stamp from Kaiser Craft, and heat embossed in neon yellow & neon green. I dry-embossed a zig-zag border on the right-hand side on my BigShot, and added a strip of neon yellow ribbon.

The letters were cut with a QuicKutz die from a neon yellow paper. The trucks & little love bug were cut from papers from the same neon paper pack.

Inspiration/Challenges:
Freshly Made Sketches: Sketch
Tuesday Throwdown: Embossing

Thanks for stopping by,

Inlaid & Inked Father's Day

I really enjoy playing at Taylored Expressions' Share Joy challenge, and, lucky me, I won a gift certificate to their store!  This card features their "Transportation" Little Bits dies.

The cars & treeline are die cut directly from the textured cardstock base and the pieces set back together. The cars were inked with the same 3 blue inks that I used for the sentiments. The "roads" are inked with Memento inks that I also purchased from TE, using a Recollections stamp. I used the same stamp for the blue sections. The "Father's Day" sentiment piece was fussy cut and popped with foam tape. The base is a slate blue cardstock.

Inspiration/Challenges:
AAA Cards #64: Inlaid Die Cutting + CAS/Modern/Nearly Clean
Sunday Stamps #126: Create a Scene using Sketch

Thanks for stopping by,

Simply Stenciled Father's Day

I'm starting on my Father's Day cards. The cloud embossing folder is from Taylored Expressions, the word bubbles (stamps & dies) are from Latina Crafter, the sentiment stamps are from SP Stamps & Fiskars, and the stencil is from Recollections. I used CraftSmart, Memento, and QuickQuotes inks.

The chevron block is one piece of paper; I used orange & pink inks to ink the design, and then added a layer of watermark ink, removed the stencil, and heat-embossed it with clear powder. Then I masked a section & inked it with a Navy chalk ink. The orange & blue strip on the left-hand side is a cut-off from my stenciled piece.


Inspiration/Challenges:
ColourQ: Color Combo #342
Stamplorations: May Sketch

Thanks for stopping by,

Sporty Amazeballs

I just recently figured out that my Amazeballs stamp set from CAS-ual Fridays is perfect for sports themes, so I used circle dies to create golf, tennis, and soccer balls for this relatively simple card:

I made the soccer ball with a hexagon punch; I glued the punched shapes onto cardstock & then die-cut the circle. The tennis ball is made from 2 circles, and the top portions were colored with a fluorescent yellow-green marker & covered with yellow flocking. I simply dry-embossed the golf ball circle, but used the debossed side. I die-cut the treeline, embossed the top portion, stamped on the bottom, and then fit it back together onto 3 base papers.

The background color scheme of Mint & Navy was inspired by the challenge at Inkspirational. I used papers in 2 shades of both colors. I think this could be used for anyone.

I finished the card with a little "marble" sticker embellishment. My style has been fairly simple recently, but I think it appeals to a wider audience and of course I can always add embellishments in the future, if necessary!

Inspiration/Challenges:
Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge: Sketch #160
Happy Little Stampers: Anything Goes with Dies
Inkspirational: Mint & Navy colors

Thanks for stopping by,