Miss You...

To view an image up-close, please click on the photo.

Normally, I LOVE sketch challenges. They are such a terrific way to get the creative juices flowing and often times they end up doing half the work! This week's Friday Challenge should have been, well, not easy, but at least not the head-scratching time I had. The sketch is great for its simplicity, but the trick was to decide what I wanted to put in that large circle element!
Finally, after a few hours of fretting, I settled on this lovely kaleidoscope image, which I stamped twice and carefully colored in with Copics. I cut out one of the images and snipped all the way around it toward the center. Next I bent and curled each "petal" until the middle was pushed in and the petals curved outward. I also cut out the center of my second image and popped that up with a pretty rhinestone accent. After gluing the petaled image down on its twin, I was left with a wonderfully 3-dimensional "flower." I stamped and die-cut a matching frame as well. For the rest of the card, I really wanted the kaleidoscope to be the main focus, so I stuck with a mostly white card base, only embossing it with tiny dots for some visual contrast. I tied some organza ribbon and strung it across and added a simple sentiment to finish off a difficult card which I was ultimately very pleased with!
BEAN NOTES: JustRite Stampers Kaleidoscope Borders and Centers and Custom Design Cardmaking Kit (sentiment) Stamps; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Copic Sketch Markers; Stampin' Up Perfect Plum, Pale Plum, and Whisper White Card Stock; Black Organza Ribbon (generic); Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Cuttlebug Swiss Dots Embossing Folder; Spellbinders Classic Circles Nestabilities; Big Shot; Martha Stewart Cornice Punch
HAPPY BEANS: Clear Rhinestones (generic)

For All That You Do...

To view an image up-close, please click on the photo.

Today's post is for my fourth and final card for the "open auditions" for PaperCrafts Magazine's Gallery Idol 2010 card contest. I am absolutely THRILLED to say that this balloon card was chosen as a Top 20 Finalist! There were so many amazing cards and I'm honored to have been selected to move on. So, I'll be working on my Round 2 card next week and if you like what I come up with, I hope you'll vote! In the meantime, a little bit about this card that got me through.
I know that hot air balloons have been all the rage of late, but I've been a fan for a long time -- though, as someone deathly afraid of heights, you'd be hard-pressed to get me to actually ride in one! For this card, I wanted to make a shaped card celebrating the wonderfulness that are hot air balloons. I began with the balloon itself, die-cutting five different pieces of paper with my Big Shot. Next, I carefully cut each piece so that they matched up in an assembled circle. For a little bit of authentic whimsy, I zig-zagged stitched along each seam before setting the balloon aside while I worked on the basket.
To achieve a woven basket, I used some nifty wood sheets and drew and cut out the general shape of my basket three times. I then cut two of the shapes along both horizontal and vertical lines before weaving them together and gluing onto the third shaped element. I sponged on some Distress Ink for come color, and to bring out the weave.
Next, I faced an interesting conundrum: how do I make a standing balloon that could be supported by "rope" created from hemp twine? The solution was to cut out a card base from clear acetate and gluing the balloon and basket to it, along with a similar base in Baja Breeze for the back of the card. I was so pleased that the card stood up without any problems.
The sentiment was created on a computer and printed out on white card stock. I simply cut it out and then adhered it after bending it gently here and there. For a final touch, I die cut some cream colored felt and made little "sand sacks" to hang over the sides of the basket. Up, up and away!
BEAN NOTES: Tim Holtz Distress Ink; Making Memories Chloe's Closet Designer Paper; Stampin' Up Bleu Bayou, Whisper White, Certainly Celery and Groovy Guava Card Stock; SU Hemp Twine; Papertrey Ink Clear Acetate; Spellbinders Classic Circles Nestabilities; Quikutz Embossing Folder; Sizzix Embossing Folder; Big Shot; Cream Felt (generic) White Embroidery Thread (generic); Sewing Machine; Needle; Computer and Printer
HAPPY BEANS: SU Texture Cuts Wood Sheets

With Gratitude...

To view an image up-close, please click on the photo.

I've been furiously making cards all week, and I didn't think I could make another. However, this week marks the second anniversary of 2 Sketches 4 You, and I wanted to help them celebrate by creating a card using this week's sketch! Those gals are so inspirational that I felt I just had to say 'thanks.'
For this card, I decided to let the paper do the talking. I took a single sheet of 6"x6" designer paper and cut out panels to correspond to the elements in the sketch. This is actually one of my favorite techniques to use on designer paper -- with the right pattern, you can often create a very pretty "scene." I did add a little bit of dimension with foam tape, and also used a hobby blade to carefully cut out the petals on the framed blossom. A few little pearls and a simple sentiment were all I needed to finish this elegant thank you card.
BEAN NOTES: Papertrey Ink Anniversary Set (sentiment) Stamp; Stampin' Up Very Vanilla Craft Ink; SU Chocolate Chip Card and Very Vanilla Stock; Kaiser Pearls; Foam Tape (generic) HAPPY BEANS: Memory Box Gossamer Designer Paper

A Fly-By Thanks...

To view an image up-close, please click on the photo.

My third Thank You card of the week is another I made for the Gallery Idol 2010 card competition, sponsored by PaperCrafts Magazine. I was hesitant to enter, as the competition is really fierce, but I do love a good challenge and as the theme was "thank you cards," I just couldn't resist. I'll be entering four cards in total, and if you missed the first two, you can view them here and here. The last of my cards (and my own personal favorite) will be up this Friday, which is also the day they announce the Top 20 Finalists. I'll be keeping my fingers (and toes!) crossed that I might have the honor of advancing!
For this card, I did a bit of paper-piecing. First I started with this cute bi-plane image and stamped it directly on my Bashful Blue card base before stamping again on Riding Hood Red and Basic Gray. After carefully cutting out the separate pieces, I glued them on to the base and added some glitter pen highlights to the propeller. For the cute little banner, I created a custom sentiment and popped it out just a bit behind the plane. Wanting to keep things simple, yet wanting to give the card a little something extra, I pierced holes to create a cloud and hand-stitched the outline. Finally, I added a pretty matching ribbon and adhered the entire base to a large square scallop die cut element.
BEAN NOTES: Papertrey Ink Fly Away and Simple Alphabet Stamps; Stampin' Up Basic Gray and Riding Hood Red Classic Dye Ink; SU Riding Hood Red and Basic Black Stampin' Write Markers; SU Riding Hood Red, Bashful Blue, Basic Gray, and Whisper White Card Stock; Riding Hood Red/Very Vanilla Tafetta Ribbon; Hero Arts Gemstones; Foam Dimensional Square (generic) HAPPY BEANS: SU Sizzix Large Square Scallop Bigz Clear Die; White Thread and Sewing Needle

Christmas in May...

To view an image up-close, please click on the photo.

It's a sweltering, humid day in NYC today, so my card today has me dreaming of a white Christmas! This week's Friday Challenge: Christmas in May was the perfect solution to my pining for some cool weather. It seems funny to be making a Christmas card when the year isn't half over yet, but it was really fun to look ahead to what has already been a crazy year!
For this card, I decided to make an adaptation of a tent card. I stamped eight of these cute present stamps and paper-pieced the stripe on each in alternating colors of red and green. Next, I colored in the bows with a glitter pen and accented the little circles as well. After cutting out each one, I stacked them high up on a piece of white card stock. After stamping these adorable little gingerbread men (giving each some glittery accents too), I thought it would be fun for them to do some acrobatics! I didn't have a ladder stamp, so I drew one of my own and cut it out with a hobby blade. My fitting sentiment was simply printed out on the computer and now I'm already one up on this year's Christmas greetings!
BEAN NOTES: JustRite Stampers Favorite Occasions Borders & Centers Stamps; Stampin' Up Basic Black Card Stock; SU Close to Cocoa, Riding Hood Red, Wild Wasabi, Kraft, and Whisper White Card Stock; Spica Glitter Pens; Signo White Uni-Ball Gel Pen; Computer and Printer HAPPY BEANS: Hobby Blade

A Note of Thanks...

To view an image up-close, please click on the photo.

Continuing along on my Thank You card week, I made a card that was inspired by a recent trend...ruffles! This photo from the cover of Parents magazine gave me my jumping off point for my simple yet fun card. The little girl's bathing suit is so bright a cheerful, and I die cut scallops in similar hues to mimic her ruffled attire. After adhering to my white card base, I stamped a clean and simple sentiment. I know I could have left the card alone at that point, but what girl doesn't like a little bling?
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Thank You Kindly Stamp; SU Close to Cocoa Classic Dye Ink; SU Whisper White, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, Dusty Durango, Certainly Celery, and Bashful Blue Card Stock; Papertrey Ink Medium Scallop Border Die; Big Shot HAPPY BEANS: Clear gemstones (generic)

Daisy Thanks...

To view the image up-close, please click on the photo.

I have spent the last week working on Thank You cards for an upcoming card challenge (more details to come), and this one was the first one I worked on. For this card, I knew I wanted to do something with flowers, and after a bit of thought, I broke out a punch and created many of these little daisies in white card stock. Then, I punched out little pink circles for each center and sewed on a tiny clear button over each.
I set my punched blooms aside while I worked on my die cut sentiment. It was a bit tricky cutting down my foam tape to fit the letters, but I popped out each one over some card stock and then framed the entire element with my punched flowers. It's springtime in NYC -- hay-fever city! -- and these daisies are pretty and yet completely pollen free!
BEAN NOTES: (All materials are Stampin' Up unless otherwise noted) Sizzix Go-Go Boots Sizzlet Alphabet Die; Certainly Celery, Pink Pirouette, and Whisper White Card Stock; Punch Pack and Spring Flowers Punches; Big Shot; Foam Tape (generic); White Thread (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Bitty Buttons

Go Bananas!...

To view an image up-close, please click on the photo.

It's been over a week since I've created anything, mostly due to the fact that my folks have been in town for a visit. It was nice for them to get to spend some time with our little rugrat, whom they had not seen since he was 10 months old! To get back into the "swing" of things, I thought I'd try out this week's Friday Challenge: Kid Time. This is also a great chance to make a summer card with Julee Tilman's Sizzlin Summer Fun challenge!
My little boy loves monkeys, so for this card I was inspired to use the adorable monkey face image to make a birthday card. The sentiment on the stamp says "Go Bananas," and I really took it to heart. To create my little scene, I stamped the monkey image three times, cutting around the face and the banana after coloring with Copics. I hand-drew a body, tail, and arms so that my monkey could swing from a paper-pieced palm tree, complete with popped out coconuts. I thought it would be fun for the little guy to be reaching for a giant cupcake sprinkled with some sparkly glitter. I added in some punched waves and die cut the first half of my computer-generated sentiment, sponging around the inner inverted scallop circle. I put the remaining sentiment inside a nice puffy cloud and I was left with a fun, cheerful card for my own little monkey.
BEAN NOTES: JustRite Let's Celebrate and Cupcake Center Stamps; Copic Sketch Markers; Memento Tuxedo Black Ink; Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie Classic Dye Ink; SU Whisper White, Wild Wasabi, Certainly Celery, So Saffron, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard, Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, and Pink Pirouette Cardstock; Two-Way Glue Pen; EK Success Dotted Wave Punch; SU Dazzling Diamonds Glitter; Spellbinders Inverted Scallops Nestabilities; Big Shot; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic)
HAPPY BEANS: Copic 0.5 Multiliner SP

Trio of Dads for a Father's Day Hop!...

Welcome to the May Pals Hop! Today our group of papercrafters will be showcasing projects featuring two big days -- Father's Day and Graduation. If you've hopped over from the marvelous Mike Funke's Stampin' Style, you're in the home stretch as I'm stop number 10. We hope you "hop along" from blog to blog where you'll find inspirational ideas for papercrafted creations showcasing all that Stampin' Up has to offer. Should you hop off course, simply click on any links in the Pals Hop Line-up below and you'll be back on track! We're thrilled to have you visit and please feel free to leave as many comments as you'd like telling us what you think...there are 11 blogs in all. Happy Hopping!

To view an image up-close, please click on the photo.


Any regular reader of TSB knows that I am a "punch-a-holic"! For my Pals Hop projects, I decided to once again showcase how wonderful these nifty tools can be. I've created three very different Father's Day cards for three very different dads. Masculine cards can sometimes be a challenge, and I find it helps to think about what kind of guy I'm creating for.
The first of my Dad's Day trio is for the "new" dad, of which my own hubby still qualifies, as our rugrat is still a toddler. They have a fun, rough and tumble relationship, so for this card, I thought a few cute monkeys would be just the thing. I should also point out that this card, start to finish, took 15 minutes, and you could certainly substitute any number of images for the little monkeys! The Large Star Punch worked perfectly here. (Bean Tip: cut your sheet of white cardstock to 3-3/4" x 5" to allow for the 'reach' of the punch) I punched out three stars in random locations. Next, I stamped the monkey image three times in Close to Cocoa and cut around each before adhering onto a piece of Bashful Blue, which I had already attached to my Close to Cocoa card base. After attaching some matching brads, I popped up the star sheet over the little monkeys, allowing them to peek out through each punched star. A quick and easy rub-on completed this simple card for a terrific daddy.
BEAN NOTES: (Unless otherwise noted, all materials are Stampin' Up) Fox & Friends Stamp; Chit Chat Rub-On; Close to Cocoa Classic Dye Ink; Close to Cocoa, Bashful Blue, and Whisper White Cardstock; Blue Brads (generic); Foam Dimensional Squares HAPPY BEANS: Large Star Punch
**To order these or any other current Stampin' Up products, please email me HERE.


For the second of my fatherhood duo, I created something for the "classy" dad. First, I used SU's Harlequin Texturz Impression Plate and ran some Basic Black cardstock through my Big Shot. Next, using a glitter pen, I turned the impression into some fancy argyle. Using the modern label piece of the Movers & Shapers XL Die, I then die-cut the shape from the middle of the background piece. Using some nice bright Real Red, I stamped the simple sentiment and punched it out using the coordinating Modern Label Punch and popped it out with dimensionals. Finally, I added a chic red satin ribbon and I had a card for a father who enjoys the good things in life!
BEAN NOTES: (Unless otherwise noted, all materials are Stampin' Up) Teeny Tiny Wishes (sentiment); Real Red Classic Dye Ink; Real Red, Whisper White, and Basic Black Cardstock; Harlequin Texturz Impression Plate; Movers & Shapers XL Die and Modern Label Moveable Piece; Modern Label Punch; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); Real Red Satin Ribbon
HAPPY BEANS: Glitter Pen (generic)
**To order these or any other current Stampin' Up products, please email me HERE.


My third card was created with a more "guy's guy" dad in mind. I started with creating the letter tags, which was very easy to do with the large and small Tag Punches. I stamped with some Craft Ink and embossed with clear embossing powder to bring out each letter from the Defining Alphabet set. Next, I cut out each with scissors and a hobby blade. Then I punched a small hole in each blue tag and tied on a bit of embossing floss. To make the background, I used the wonderful Sanded background stamp in Night of Navy and then glued down some strips of matching cardstock for some visual interest. Finally, I popped up my finished tags to spell out this three-letter word that really says it all.
BEAN NOTES: (Unless otherwise noted, all materials are Stampin' Up) Defining Alphabet (sentiment) and Sanded Stamps; Night of Navy Craft Ink; Clear Embossing Powder (generic); Night of Navy, Whisper White, and Bashful Blue Cardstock; Small and Large Tag Punches; Foam Dimensional Squares (generic); 1/16" Hole Punch (generic) HAPPY BEANS: White Embroidery Floss (generic)
**To order these or any other current Stampin' Up products, please email me HERE.

More inspiring ideas await you at Sumaiyah Yates's Stampin' Dymonz, stop number 11 on the Pals Hop. Hop on over and see Sumaiyah's creative ideas. Click on any of the sites listed below to begin the Pals Hop.

1. Barbara Furlong -- The Love of Stamping

2. Debbie Pierce -- Stampin' Sunshine

3. Gina Shaw -- Cards by Gina

4. Jason Casper -- Jason's Stampin' Pad

5. Joanna Munster -- Inspired by Stampin'

6. Kylie Nicolosi -- Kylie's Crafty Corner

7. Martha Stewart -- Seasons of Stamping

8. Mary Fish -- Stampin' Pretty

9. Mike Funke -- Stampin-Style

10. Regina Mangum -- You are HERE!

11. Sumaiyah Yates -- Stampin' Dymonz

A Dimensional Birthday...

To view an image up-close, please click on the photo.

My amazing and beautiful sister-in-law has a birthday coming up and I wanted to make her a nice card. She is sweet and sassy, and when I saw the Color Challenge with Dimension over on Embellish Magazine, I was inspired to make this card. The colors are vibrant and fun, just like Lizz.
For this card, I wanted the colors and the dimension to be the main focus, so I didn't actually do any stamping. Instead, I cut out and popped up a frame in Bermuda Bay and then colored and layered some chipboard flowers to match the color scheme. I ran some ribbon through the frame across my embossed background and added a stem and popped up some leaves for more dimension. The sentiment is a rub-on and for a final touch I paper pierced a simple line along the bottom of the card.
BEAN NOTES: Stampin' Up Chat Room Rub-On; Papertrey Ink Orange Zest and Hawaiian Shores Hybrid Ink; SU Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, Bermuda Bay, and Dusty Durango Cardstock; Spellbinders Labels One Nestabilities; Quickutz Embossing Folder; Big Shot; Green Button (generic); SU Bermuda Bay Grosgrain Ribbon; Paper Piercing Tool (generic) HAPPY BEANS: Foam Dimensional Square (generic); Chipboard Flowers (generic)

A Butterfly Monday...

To view an image up-close, please click on the photo.

It's an odd, humid, rainy day here in Manhattan and I really needed a pick-me-up--what better way to do that than to make a card? Today's Mojo sketch was just the ticket, and I also wanted to get my creative groove on for the Gallery Idol Challenge over on Papercrafts. The theme, which is 'Thank You,' is perfect as I just got a yummy box from my lovely mom-in-law for Mother's Day! I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll enter this card, but it was certainly a fun one to make.
Using the sketch, I cut out a window for the square element, framing it in some Rose Red cardstock. I wanted to go monochromatic, and I next used different shades of pink in 1-inch squares for the vertical panel. After punching out some pretty monarch butterflies, I strung them on some white embroidery floss and adhered them as tautly as I could so that they could "flutter" in the window. After stamping my very simple sentiment, all I needed was to pop it up and add three little brads for a pretty in pink thank you.
BEAN NOTES: Verve "Thanks" Stamp; Stampin' Up Rose Red, Regal Rose, Pink Pirouette, and Pretty in Pink Cardstock; Neenah Solar White Cardstock; Spellbinders Long Ovals and Classic Square Nestabilities; SU 1-inch Square Punch; Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly Punch; Foam Dimensional Square (generic); Pink Brads (generic) HAPPY BEANS: White Embroidery Floss (generic)