Hand Stamped By Lacey

Cute Card Thursday meets AmyR Sketches

Here is another card that I started a few days ago..but missed one of the deadlines! Let me tell you...this never-ending cold is kicking my butt!!

The sketch is from AmyR's Friday Sketch #53. I really liked it and wanted to play along, but since I was sick everything is taking so much longer to make! So I missed the deadline for her challenge.

But at least it still works for Cute Card Thursday's Challenge #52 which is a Recipe: Something Ripped, 2 Papers, and 4 Embellishments. Here is my card...

I used Willow with Flower Basket for the image (for some reason, I couldn't fine this stamp on the Whiff of Joy site, but you can get it from other sites such as All That Scraps). I cut the image out with Nestabilities, embossed in black, and watercolored with Twinkling H2Os. I used 2 Basic Grey papers from the Bittersweet collection along with a Close to Cocoa card base. I used a new border punch from Martha Stewart.

For the embellishments, I used ribbon, a crochet flower from SU, a Prima, and a SU clear rhinestone brad.

I carried the papers on the inside...

The swirl stamp is from the $1 bin at Michaels.

I forgot to add the cream mat for the message. I will do that before I use the card.

By the way, have you been checking out Katharina's Blog lately? She (along with the Whiff of Joy DT) has been previewing the new stamps that will be available Sunday night. They are designed by Elizabeth Bell for the Guardian Angel collection....and they are so gorgeous! Make sure to check out Bev's Blog, too..she has some Blog Candy with two of the new release stamps! AND the Whiff of Joy Challenge Blog has two other stamps for Blog Candy for the winner of their challenge this week!!

On a personal note...

I am feeling much better. Thursday I still felt horrible, but yesterday I felt like a new women! I still have major congestion in my sinus and ears. But I at least I have more energy and I haven't had to use my asthma inhaler yesterday or so far today. However, I did wake up with a sinus headache this morning. It's mostly gone away now. I am hoping my energy holds out today because I plan on tackling my closet today! We have a huge master closet. We have 3 dressers stored inside the closet along with a full size ironing board that is out all the time (but out of the way). However....you can't move in there because we just throw stuff in there! I need to pull down the boxes on my shelves to see whats in them and go through clothes that I haven't worn in years. I hope to tackle at least one section of the house each weekend before we move. Since Scott's company is relocating us, they will pay for movers to pack and move us. So, I don't need to "pack", but I don't want all this clutter in our new home!

So, on that note, I need to go so I can get to work! Thanks for stopping by! Happy Stamping!

~Lacey

High Hopes Blog Challenge #6 and Blog Hop winner

It's time for another High Hopes Blog Challenge. This week's challenge is brought to us by the very talented artist... Crissy Armstrong. Crissy is the amazing talent behind the adorable High Hopes stamps...she illustrates each little character!

The challenge this week is to create a Christmas Card using "non-traditional colors"...basically no red or green. As soon as I got the new stamps in the mail, I knew which one I was going to use. I had sooo much fun creating this card.

Let me introduce you to Christmas in Sunny Florida!!!

Tropica Santa is the funniest ever!! This is sooo true in Florida...we don't have snow...just a lot of sand. To creat my scene, I embossed Tropical Santa in Black then masked him off with a scrap piece. Then I stamped Palm Tree in versamark over the mask then finished embossing the tree. I drew a beach line with a Stampin' Write black marker then embossed Starla Starfish on the "beach".

Once my scene was embossed, I masked off the embossed images and sponged Creamy Caramel to create sand and Bordering Blue to create the ocean. Afterward, I watercolored the images with SU ink and markers and highlighted with a white gel pen. Here is a closer look at the image (you can see the flash bouncing off the embossing on the tree...embossing the image really makes the card look awesome in real life)...

For this card, I actually have 2 color schemes going...smokey blue and tan (which is on the DP and the ocean and sand)...and Bright Yellow and Orange (very beachy...I used SU Yo Yo Yellow and Only Orange). I added Fun Flock to santa's hat. Now I cheated a little with the challenge...no green or red...I mean, a palm tree HAS to be green and a candycane HAS to be red! But besides that, I think I met this challenge.

The DP is from a huge pack from My Mind's Eye called Wild Asparagus. I bought my pack from AC Moore, but can't find it on the website (I bought it in the store, not online). It is a huge pack of 180 single-sided DP with gorgeous colors from reds to blues and greens for only $19.95. I did a google search and couldn't find the pack anywhere. Even on the My Mind's Eye website, under Wild Asparagus, it only shows the DP broken down by sections. Anyway, it is so awesome that I plan to get another pack with my AC Moore 50% off coupon good next weekend.

Getting back to the card, I used 4 of the DP for the card layout, added some ribbon I got at Michaels and some primas and SU Close to Cocoa buttons. The sentiment was printed on the computer. The card base is SU Close to Cocoa and is 5 1/2" x 5 1/2".

I absolutely adore this card!! I may have to make these my Christmas cards this year...for my close friends...these would be too time consuming to mass produce...believe, I know...I have received quite a few large invitation orders lately and finally realized that 60 cards take a LOT of time to watercolor!!

Tina (High Hopes Owner) is offering some free stamps to anyone who participates in the changes. So, if you play along with our challenge this week, use keyword HHC6 if you upload to the SCS gallery and don't forget to leave a link on the High Hopes Blog Challenge post for this week so you can be entered into the drawing...here is the post to link to!

No on to my blog candy giveaway...And the winner is...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

28	

Timestamp: 2008-11-02 18:40:32 UTC

Ohhh...that's a lovely card and one of my favorite new stamps. That little frog just makes me smile. I just ordered my first HH stamps and am waiting very (im)patiently for them to arrive! Thanks for sharing!!

Posted by: Mindy | October 31, 2008 at 11:46 AM

Mindy (mindyh74), please email me your address so I can send you your goodies!! Congratulations!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lacey

High Hopes Project of the Month

Today is the last day to purchase the High Hopes October Project of the Month.

Here is a card I made using the cute Three Pane Santa image for the SCS Sketch Challenge 200. I decided to flip the sketch.

I embossed the image, watercolored, then added Fun Flock (from All that Scraps) to his hat.

The paper is SU Old Olive and Baja Breeze card stock and Basic Grey Figgy Pudding DP. The ribbon is SU from the mini catalog.

The Project of the month includes the image here (Three Pane Santa), "Peeking, Poking, or Shaking" sentiment, "Medium Candy Cane", "Small Candy Cane", and "To/From" all bundled at 25% off!!

Don't forget about the Blog Hop giveaway here.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lacey

All That Scraps Sketch Challenge and Pull-Out Card

It's been awhile since I've had the time to participate in a sketch challenge. I love playing along with these challenges, but I never seem to have the time to make a card until weeks later...by then the sketch is "old" (in my opinion).

However, since I was stuck in the house with the kids today because of Tropical Storm Fay, I had a "little" time to play.

Here is the sketch and a link to the details...

Here is my take...

I had an idea in my head, but it wouldn't work with the layout of the card being "portrait" so I flipped it to be "landscape". This set is called "You know your old when..." by Gina K. Designs.

I embossed the old lady in black, then colored her in using SU ink with an aquapainter and SU markers. I added Ruby Red ink sponged along the edges. Roughed up the edges with my sissors, then matted it onto Blue Bayou (retired SU) mat also roughed up edges. I added a strip of DP (SU Retired), a strip of Blue Bayou punched with Fiscars Threading Water border punch, and some Soft Sky Ribbon onto a piece of River Rock CS stamped with "Big 'Ol Background Strips".

I punched out a window with my SU Keytag Punch. Then I created a pull-out strip for the sentiment.

I embossed the sentiments also, but the flash of the camera reflects off the embossing in this picture.

To create the pull-out strip, I used foam dimensionals and pieces of card stock to guide the strip and stop it from being pushed too far in or too far out...

I added a piece of River Rock cs on the inside of the card to hide the pull out strip.

This was a fun card to make. If you try to make a pull-put card or use this sketch, please comment on this post with a link to your card. I can't wait to see what you come up with.

And something new, if you leave a comment with a link to your blog, I will add your blog to my blogroll!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lacey

Luau Party Puzzle and "Craft-a-Board" product critique

If you visit my blog often, then you probably have seen my tutorial on making party favor puzzles. With my initial design, I used 3 sheets of Papertrey Stampers Select White CS and glued the layers together. When I was trying to figure out the thickness for the puzzles, I thought "I wish my coasters were larger, they would be perfect".

Well, guess what?...Ellen Hutson LLC has a new product called "Craft-a-Board". What is Craft-a-Board? It is basically a 9"x13" sheet of light weight coasters!!

I compared the Craft-a-Board next to my light weight coasters from All that Scraps, and they are the same thickness, same texture, basically it looks like the coasters are cut from this product. Therefore....the possibilities are ENDLESS!!

Unfortunately, I could not get a good picture of craft a board's thickness next to lightweight coaster thickness...my camera would not focus. It's currently stormy outside so the light is dull inside the house from the rain and my camera could not get focus. However, here is a coaster on top of a piece of Craft-a-Board...

Ellen has some awesome examples of uses for the Craft-a-Board on her blog here and here (PS, the blog candy has expired...she already picked a winner, sorry).

As soon as I saw that the product was available for sale, I purchased 3 packs. I knew I wanted to use them for my puzzles. And here is my first one...

I knew I wanted to create a beach scene using these awesome High Hopes stamps (and a retired SU dolphin). I stamped the Palm Tree, Leilani, and jungle leaf corner directly onto a piece of 5 1/2"x4 1/4" piece of Craft-a-Board using Stazon Black Ink. Then I masked off half of the Dolphin from Silly Sea Life (Retired SU) and stamped him in Stazon. I used a SU Stampin' Write Marker to draw in the lines to create the illusion of a beach and a skyline. Then I water colored the images with an aquapainter and highlighted with markers.

I found watercoloring onto the Craft a Board was similar to watercoloring onto Watercolor paper. The ink and water bleed a little. It created a cool effect. Then I outlined the images with my SU markers.

I sponged Creamy Caramel onto the "beach", "Baha Breeze" onto the "ocean", So Saffron (using a whole punched with my SU scallop circle) for the sun, then Bashful Blue for the sky using a scallop circle to randomly create clouds.

After I was done coloring my scene, I ran it through my cuttlebug using the Puzzle die. Die sponge side up and puzzle face down...

Add a "B" plate on top. And run it through the machine (don't look at my mess in the background!!).

* Tip: My husband found a few tips that make it easier...instead of cranking the handle when trying to cut a puzzle, "pop" the handle...get the handle at the top and quickly pop it down in a fast motion. Once the sandwich starts moving through the machine, you can easily crank the handle...it's just getting it started that is hard.

* 2nd Tip: My husband also found out that it is sometimes easier to prop the cuttlebug against a wall to help push the sandwich through...like this...

And here is the final puzzle...

I will be adding names to the puzzles to personalize them, but...oops...I forgot to stamp this one before I cut it!! I guess this will be Ansley's!

I have a different design for the boys that I haven't finished yet. So I will post those later.

If you decide to use Craft a Board or make a puzzle, please send me a link. Here is a puzzle Kelly made. Wow! Check out all that masking!! Since I have to make 12 of these puzzles, I deliberatly designed the layout so I did not have to mask off (except the dolphin which was simple...I just used a piece of paper and stamped the image half on the paper and half on the board). But, the watercoloring took forever!! It took me at least an hour to watercolor 4 puzzles. Of course, my son and daughter decided they wanted to make one too so I had to stop many times to help them.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lacey

"Button" chipboard Tutorial

I have another tutorial to share with you. I actually made this one at the same time as the Make your own Desiger Paper Tutorial but I wanted to separate the tutorials so (1) it didn't take an hour to read and (2) so you can reference back to each one by name if you needed a second look down the road.

Honestly, I have no idea what to call these!  I used them on these scrapbook pages here and here.

I cut out my letters using Cuttlebug "Red Tag Sale" dies and Lightweight Coasters that I purchased at All That Scraps.

The dies run through the lightweight chipboard easily.

Once all of the letters were cut out, I placed them on my stamping surface so I could stamp them...

I started with Sanded Backgrounder stamped in Chocolate Chip...

Then I stamped them with Polka Dot backgrounder also in Chocolate Chip...

Next I inked up the outside edges of each letter with Chocolate chip...

Now for the secret ingredient... SU Crystal Effects!! Sooooo simple! Just sqeeze it on all over your piece and let it dry for a few hours!!!

This is what it looks like when it's still wet...

Once again, here is what they look like finished! The thicker the layer of Crystal Effects, the thinker they stay, but take longer to dry. This is truely an amazing product!

Here are the other ones I made for the first page. Yes, these are darker. Apparently when I made these (which I made first), I added Close to Cocoa ink directly to the letters before adding the Crystal Effects! I missed that step on the second round, but was too tired to redo everything. So, shhh, don't tell anyone! LOL

Thanks for stopping by!

 ~Lacey

Beach Babes

I finally finished a scrapbook layout from our 4th of July trip to Daytona Beach, FL. Here is one of the layouts. I will save the other half of the layout for a tutorial on Monday.

For this layout, I used the same inspiration piece from Ali Miles that I did for 11 Month layout for the Baby Scrapbook here. But I needed to add one more picture, so I added the 4th picture in the upper right corner. The pictures aren't really this dark in real life except the one on the bottom right...it was before 9am when the picture was taken so the picture is almost a silhouette.

The center picture is matted onto a piece of Papertrey Stampers Select White (cut the same size so nothing shows) so that I could make it stronger and pop it up with dimensionals (there was too much going on under it that it would have been bumpy if I glued it down).

I cut out my title using a cuttlebug alphabet die-cut onto Lightweight Coasters that I purchased from All that Scraps. Then I stamped them, inked the edges, and added Crystal Effects. They almost look like buttons!!

I created my own designer paper using 12x12 Kraft cardstock and 12x12 Soft Sky Textured CS that I got in the Hostess scrapbook kits from the last Fall/Winter catalog (yes, I have been holding onto it for months now...I ended up with about 6 kits so I figured I would eventually make something with it). I will make a tutorial for Monday on creating your own designer paper using stamps.

The ribbon is from Michaels. The swirls are Sizzix dies. The stamp is from SU Summer by the Sea.

Oh, I added real sand from the beach!!

I used A LOT of Crystal Effects and dabbed sand on the Effects trying not to get it all over the picture and page (I added this last). I let it mostly dry, then I added a little more to cover some of the shiny areas left from the Effects. In real life, this piece is hard as a rock!! Not one grain of sand will be able to fall off...ever!!!

I added a little to another picture...

In real life, it looks like the sand is actually being scooped up off the page!!

And here is another close up of the detail on the paper...which will be explained in the Tutorial on Monday...

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

~Lacey

You know you are old when...

I saw this cute stamp set from Gina K at All That Scraps and thought these would make a cute card set for an older couple. Last friday was my step father’s 70^th birthday! I didn’t have the time make a complete set before going on vacation, but I was able to make him a card. He has a great sense of humor. He’s 10 years older than my mom and is actually in great health shape. So this sentiment doesn’t totally fit him, but I still had to rub in that he is “OLD”. Again, he has a great sense of humor and I doubt he will be offended…especially since he is in such great health.

I used the old man for the image embossed in black and colored in with SU ink and aquapainter and highlighted with SU markers.

I used Soft Sky Designer paper from SU…what better says “old” than Argyle, right?! So I used that paper for the background and the flip side of that paper for the strips. I used Blue Bayou as the card base. I know I keep saying this, but I am going to miss these colors when they retire. However, the new “in-colors” are totally awesome so I have to let them go…after I stock up J

On the inside, I complete the sentence… “Everything hurts...and what doesn’t hurt, doesn’t work”.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lacey

 

Xyron Sticker Tutorial

To go with my “Party Theme” kick that I have been on lately, I have come up with another Party Favor idea… Sticker sets! I think these little sets would make a great gift to coordinate with the invitations, puzzles and party theme.

I have created a tutorial to show how easy they are to make using the mini Xyron 1.5” create-a-sticker machine (sold at local stores like Michaels, Joanns, and AC Moore for less than $20). The only limitation to these stickers are the size…they have to be less than 1.5”.

Since I have been working on a Monkey Themed Party lately, I decided to make some stickers to match the invitations and thank you cards.

To start, I cut a few strips of Whisper White CS 2” wide. I stamped the images I wanted to use and colored them.

Then I cut them out using my SU punches… 1 ¼” Circle punch for the bananas and 1 3/8” Square Punch for the monkey…note: The monkey is larger than the punch, but it leaves enough to know what it is.

Next I inked up the edges of the punched out images that coordinates with the theme (In this case, I used More Mustard Ink).

Then I dropped the images one at the time into the opening on the top. Make sure the image is pushed all the way down, then pull the sticker tape until the image is enclosed in the sticker strip. Repeat with all of the images making sure not to overlap them.

After all of the images are in the sticker strip, rub the top clear layer completely. This will make the excess sticky stuff that is where there are no stickers to stick to the clear cover.

Once you have rubbed the strip completely, gently pull the clear cover off. You will be left with a strip of stickers.

Cut them out as you wish…in my set, I cut the monkey into 1 sticker, but left the two bananas on a strip together. That way they will show in the gift bag.

Put the stickers into a SU “Small Flat Cellophane Bags” $3.95 for 50 bags.

Next I created a topper for the gift bag. I used a piece of 3” x 4” So Saffron CS and scored it in half (2”).

Decorate as you wish…I used the “Spunky Spots” (stamped in versamark) wheel since it I used that on the Invitation and Thank You cards. The sentiment is from SU Wonderful Words (stamped in Chocolate Chip).

Next add 4 strips of adhesive to the inside of the topper (I used snail). Place the top of the bag along half of the topper lining it up to the score line. Then close the topper.

So simple!! I think these would also make great scrapbook embelishments! As long as you use the Xyron Permanent stickers, then they should make a great coordinating scrapbook page!! But that will have to wait for a later date!

So, what do you think? Leave me a comment and let me know if you like my tutorial!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lacey

 

It's a Party!

As you probably already know, I have been on this monkey kick lately. I made some invitations for my friend's son's 1st birthday using Monkey Love set and a yellow and brown color theme. Here is the first design I created for her to choose from which is a gate fold card. I also gave her this design as well. She chose the 2nd design, but decided she wanted the wording on the inside so I changed that up by adding a brown polka dot ribbon.

She also wanted some of my puzzles that I make using this tutorial. So to continue with party favor theme, I went ahead and created a whole party package. This set includes: Party Invitations, Thank You Cards, Personalized Puzzles, Sticker sets (check back on monday for a tutorial on the stickers), and a coordinating party favor bag with name tag.

On the left is the revised invitation.

I used this sketch layout from iheart2stamp.com to make the Thank You cards...

Here is the thank you card using this sketch...

The monkey, balloons and sentiment are embossed.

By the time this posts, we should be on our way to Tennessee for 10 days to visit family. We will spend a few days with my in-laws. Then we will go to Gatlinburg, TN to a resort with my sister and her family. My mom and step father will be joining us as well. It should be fun. In the mean time, hopefully all of my scheduled posts will work! If not, I will be back in 10 days.

Thank you for stopping by!

~Lacey

Party Puzzle Tutorial

I found the coolest new tool...a Cuttlebug Puzzle die. I saw it months ago on Julie's blog. I didn't "need" it at the time, but I kept an eye out for it in the stores. I came across it a few weeks ago at All That Scraps and wanted it for my daughter's birthday party coming up in September (yes, I think 3 months ahead for birthday parties). It came in last week and I couldn't wait to play with it. Of course, I had some pending card orders and family in time so I could only just play a little. But today I have a tutorial to share with you.

I am using this card for the inspiration for this particular puzzle. Here is the final result so you have an idea of what we are making today...

I tried using a few chipboard pieces, but they were too large for my cuttlebug. Julie used the back of Notepads in her post, but I wanted something that I could make in larger quantities. I plan on using/selling these for party favors.

So, I came up with using a few pieces of heavy cardstock glued together. Papertrey's Stampers Select White is 110 lb cardstock compared to SU 80 lb colored cardstock (I am not sure what the Whisper White is...I am sure I can find it in the manual if you want to know). So, to start, I used 3 pieces of cardstock cut 5 1/2" x 4 1/2" (basic A2 size).

I completely covered the surface of each layer to make sure that it won't fall apart. Once all of the layers were glued together, I stamped and colored my design.

After the design was finished, I ran it through my cuttlebug (don't mind my mess is the background LOL). I used the White A Plate on the bottom, B Plate, Puzzle die facing up, card front face down, then another B Plate on the top. This is a tight fit, so you may need to hand push the dies to get it started.

When your done, you will have a little "frame" that is left over.

To hold the puzzle to give out, I wanted to create a little box. Niki make this cute little box out of transparencies for the Papertrey Blog Hop so I used the box template, but created it out of cardstock instead. I changed it up a little...

I wanted to use half of a regular size cardstock so I could get 2 out of one sheet. So, Niki's dimensions were 4 1/2" (I think), I made mine 4 1/4". I scored 3/4" along all four sides, then made another 3/4" in the center. The two larger sqaures (which will be the top and bottom of the box) should be roughly 2 3/4" each.I also changed up the way it closes. To make it simple, I made the top to flap over instead of tuck in like Niki's. Therefore, I just cut the flaps on the outside.

Before I did that, I quickly decorated my box...

Then I added little strips of Red Line "Sticky Strip" tape to the little flaps and put the box together.

Here is the box put together....

Once again, here is the final result...

I think these would make adorable goodie bag gifts for a Jungle or Diego themed birthday party. I will do another post with some other designs I came up with for these puzzles.

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lacey

In the Jungle

I actually stamped today! After meeting up with some friends for the kids to play today, and while my mom and stepdad were getting ready for the wedding they are in town for, I was able to make a card for a little boy's birthday party tonight.

His theme was "Go Diego". Since I don't have any Diego stamps, I figured the next best thing was a jungle theme. So, I pulled out some new High Hopes stamps, paired it with Monkey Love and made a little jungle.

I used Chocolate Chip for the Card Base. I matted that with Creamy Caramel stamped with SU Sanded and Polka Dots Background stamps in caramel ink. I inked up the edges with chocolate chip and roughed it up with my sissors. I added some linen thread with a few knots on the left side.

For the image, I used two new High Hopes Stamps "Elmer Elephant" and "Jungle Leaves Corner" I paired those up with CC Designs Monkey Love. I embossed the leaves and the monkey onto a piece of Whisper White CS. I watercolored them then highlighted them with my SU markers. I created a sky using a scallop punch to create clouds and watercolored the grass. The elephant was embossed on a separate sheet, watercolored, highlighted with markers, then cut out and attached to the card with dimensionals. I roughed up the edges and attached the image to the card base. On the inside, I used two sentiments "Wishing you wonderful adventures" from High Hopes and "Happy Birthday" from SU Sassy Suzie (monday is the last day you can order Sassy Suzie from the SU Mini Catalog).

I really loved how this came out!! And even though these animals are from different companies, they worked well together.

Now, I also have a "sneak peak" at my new tool that I mentioned earlier...

I am hoping to have a tutorial to post on monday...so you will just have to wait until then!!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lacey

Monkey Love Take 2

I needed to make another layout for the Monkey Invitation I made here.

I used mostly the same materies as with the gate card. Chocolate Chip for the card base. Then I used Close to Cocoa inked with Spunky Spots SU Wheel inked with versamark. I roughed up the edges with my sissors. I made the sentiment the same way as the gate card (embossed), but watercolored the monkey instead of using straight markers.

For the Banana strips, I used Barely Banana CS and randomly inked the bananas in So Saffron ink the I roughed up those edges with my sissors. I attached the image with dimensionals.

I printed the sentiment on the bottom on my computer inked and roughed up the edges then cut a "1" using the letter "L" from the Cuttlebug Tag Sale because I didn't like the "1" that came in that set. I had to cut a piece of the "L" off to make it look like a one.

For the inside, I stamped SU Polka Dot background Stamp in So Saffron onto Barely Banana CS and inked up the edges. If this is the design that my friend is going to choose for her son's birthday card, then his picture will be on the left side and I will print the party information on the right side. Once again, I am really happy with how this came out.

On a personal note, I have been very busy with the kids over the past two days. Ansley is in Soccer Camp each morning this week. So Ryan and I have been running some errands and yesterday I got ready for Stamp Club last night, then we are picking Ansley up from Soccer and going to the pool for a few hours. I am soooo pooped (and a little sunburned) and this is only day two this week!! I am also still fighting off a cold. Needless to say, I am sooooo tired!

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lacey

My Little Monkey

All That Scraps had a challenge on their blog to create a “Gate Card”. I just got Money Love from ATS two weeks ago, so I wanted to play along…

 

This card uses Chocolate Chip for the card base and Barely Banana for the front panels. I randomly stamped the bananas from the Chaquita Bananas mini set in So Saffron onto the panels. The dot is from SU Mark the Date set stamped in Barely Banana ink. I roughed up the edges before mounting the panels.

 

For the image, I used the adorable hanging monkey, embossed in black and colored in with SU markers onto Very Vanilla CS. I punched the circle with a Marvy Punch and matted it onto a scalloped Chocolate Chip circle cut and embossed with a Nestability. The leaves are from Papertrey “Father Knows Best” stamped in Mellow Moss and Always Artichoke. I inked up the edges with Mellow Moss before roughing them up. I mounted the left side onto the Banana panel and added a cute ribbon that I purchased at AC Moore. To keep the gate closed, I used a SU Pewter Brad from the Hodgepodge Hardware set. If you likethe  these…get them before they retire!! Stampin' Up! will be retiring the current finishes of Hodgepodge Hardware with the new catalog that comes out in August. By the way, if you need any SU supplies, I would be more than happy to help you! You can check out the catalog through my SU! Website. The list of retiring stamps will be out sunday. As soon as I have it available, I will post it on this blog.

 

Back to the card...the sentiment on the front is from “Little Monkey” mini set also from ATS. I stamped it in versamark, then chocolate chip and embossed it with clear embossing powder.

 

 

On the inside, I added a barely banana panel and roughed up the edges. I clear embossed the sentiment from “Sassy Suzie” in chocolate chip and added a banana in the bottom left corner embossed in clear.

 

This is also going to be a design I am showing to a friend for invitations for her son’s first birthday party. I need to make another layout as well for her to choose from. I never made a gate card before but I think it offers something different from a typical invitation.

 

I forgot to finish the card using the “fresh cut” set that I promised yesterday. I will try to work on that later, but I have a busy day planned with the kids. It may have to wait until tomorrow.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

~Lacey

Monkey Love Friday Sketch

Sorry this is a late post today. Between being sick, my son being sick, and my daughter home from school driving me crazy...I didn't get to play too much today. I am working on something that I hope to post on monday, but in the mean time, I played along with Amy's Friday Sketch. I needed to make two birthday cards for a party tomorrow.

I've been eyeing "Monkey Love" by CC Designs for awhile and went ahead and got it. It came the other day and this is the first chance I've had to ink it up.

The party is for two sisters so I wanted the colors and theme to be the same, but different cards.

I started with SU Spring Break DP for the background mats, Always Artichoke for the card base (I know, it's supposed to be Old Olive to match the DP, but I don't have any and this works fine), Monkey Love stamp set (embossed in black), SAB So Scallops for the sentiment, and Nesabilities die cuts.

I started with this card first. I just got my scalloped rectangle Nestabilities so I wanted to finally mat the image with both the regular and scallop die (you will probably be seeing a lot of this in future cards).

The sentiment is embossed using versamark first, then Blue Bayou ink, then clear embossing powder before being heat set. I punched the sentiment out with my 1 1/4" circle punch, matted with Artichoke 1 3/8" circle punch, matted onto Blue Bayou SU Scallop punch. It was missing something it in the upper right hand corner, so I added some Blue Bayou Double Stiched Ribbon using the double rectangle punch.

For the second card, I used the other monkey image. I knew I wanted to add some balloons (I've seen this monkey with ballons many times) so I used another SAB set.

I embossed two balloons in both Soft Sky and Blue Bayou then cut them out. I attached a silver elastic cord (SU in mini last fall...I bought a ton).

Aren't they the cutest little monkey's I can wait to play with this set a little more.

I hope you enjoy your weekend. My 3 1/2 year old son has a fever but no other symptoms. He doesn't feel sick (except yesterday...he wouldn't eat all day), so trying to keep him home and busy is driving me crazy. He wants to go to the neighborhood pool or play in the water in the back yard, or have his friend come over....he just doesn't understand that he is sick...at the same time, he is burning up! I haven't taken him to the doctor because he doesn't have any symptoms and says that nothing hurts so I know the doctor will just say he has a virus and send him home. If he still has a fever on monday, I will take him.

Anyway...thanks for stopping by!! I have a ton of invitations to work on this weekend...I will share on monday!

~Lacey

Masculine Teacher Card

 needed to make some more teacher appreciation cards that I made here to fill orders for the end of the school year (which is wednesday for our local schools). The only problem was that one of the teachers is a male. High Hopes didn't have a male teacher stamp, but I found this cute little boy Donald goes to school from All That Scraps. I also bought Daphne, too. Since the Daphne set is the same as Donald, I just bought Daphne by herself, but you can purchase her as a set as well.

This card is the same as the previous post. Except a few things...

I embossed the desk and chalkboard image this time. And I embossed the sentiment in white instead of stamping in white craft ink.

Here is the original card to get an idea of the difference that embossing makes...

You can see how much darker the black outline for the dest and letters on the chalkboard are when embossed. And the sentiment is much clearer as well.

Donald is made the same way at Mary J Angel in the first post...embossed, colored, cut out, and attached to a cut out of coaster.

Here's a close up of Donald...Who wouldn't give him an "A"?!Thanks again for stopping by today!

~Lacey