A Fun, Clean & Simple Challenge!

Front
Inside

So here's my contribution for yesterday's CAS challenge on splitcoast. We were to choose something from the Bags and Boots section of Anthropology.com! I chose this bag. The top picture is the front of the card which I did by brayering ink into the Manhattan Flower embossing folder before running kraft cardstock through the Big Shot. The small piece on the inside was a scrap I tried this technique on before deciding I liked it.

To mimic the look of the bag I chose the kraft and Bermuda Bay for the colors and decided to "stitch" around the flowers by paper piercing. I never thought to do this before but really like it.

Hope you like it, and maybe even decide to play along! Stay tuned tomorrow for another great Diva Coffee Break Designs challenge! Thanks for stopping by!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: It's Your Birthday (retired), On Your Birthday

Colors: Kraft, Bermuda Bay, Whisper White

Accessories: Manhattan Flower embossing folder, 3/4" square punch, Antique Brass Hodgepodge Hardware (retired), Bermuda Bay grosgrain, Paper Piercing tools, Big Shot, Vintage Brads

Happily Ever After

Today my daughter is a flower girl and I wanted to make a special card for the bride. She babysat for us and I babysat for her when she was little. Her colors are periwinkle with a touch of light pink. I couldn't quite decide which of SU's colors is closest to periwinkle so I went with Almost Amethyst and Vintage Violet.

For the flowers I ran white cardstock through the Big Shot with the Manhattan Flower embossing folder. Then I flipped it over and brayered ink (vintage violet, Almost Amethyst and Pink Pirouette) into the backside so the debossed flower remains white. Then I cut it out and layered it over the Vintage Violet piece which was stamped with French Script in Versamark.

I pierced the edges of the Vintage Violet then added my sentiment in a Hodgepodge Frame, tied on with pink organdy ribbon. Once it was all put together I sprayed the entire thing with pearl-ex mixed in hairspray for an overall shimmer! See those larger dots of pearl-ex that are showing?? After I took the picture I found a way to reduce the visibility of those... just sand those areas with a corner of the sanding block. Just a TIP for you!

Ooh, forgot to say that I also highlighted some of the petals with the Versamarker (thanks for the idea Lisa!) to add more dimension.

Here's a quick picture of the inside. I stamped this phrase from Full of Life because I think it is perfect for a formal frilly wedding. First I stamped directly on the card but thought it just lacked something... so I tried again on white, this time inking Love with the pink marker. Added some layers and punched the bottom edge with the eyelet border punch. Also, I stamped one of the images from Frames with a Flourish under the sentiment for a more decorative touch.

Hope you like it, and have a beautiful Memorial Day weekend!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Fancy Flexible Phrases, Designer Label, French Script, Full of Life, Frames with a Flourish

Cardstock: Almost Amethyst, Vintage Violet, Whisper White

Accessories: Big Shot, Manhattan Flower embossing folder, pearl-ex hairspray, Silver Hodgepodge, Pink organdy ribbon, paper piercing tools, brayer

Best Wishes- Embossed Vellum & a color challenge

Yippee! Dawn McVey posted another Raspberry Suite color challenge (her 4th week)! I've been nearly stalking her blog waiting for this- she is a master at using color and being a color enthusiast I am always excited about trying out her combinations! This time it is brown, soft aqua and white AKA Chocolate Chip, Baha Breeze and Whisper White.

As soon as I saw the inspiration bedding I pictured the Floral background in Chocolate Chip over a Baha Breeze card base. I'm sort of wishing I had embossed it now so the chocolate would be even darker and would shine a little too... next time...

While playing on Thursday I used the Manhattan Flower Embossing folder on vellum and really like how it turned out. I love that the Floral pattern can be seen through the vellum, adding another dimension almost. The sentiment is embossed on vellum and a rhinestone brad was added for extra elegance and sparkle!

Want to know a TIP I learned about adding vellum to carstock without the adhesive showing?!? This is the second time I've tried it and I gotta say, it's much better than anything else I've tried. Although, it is showing a bit on the sentiment, but I think that is because I did it twice (first time on Baha and it didn't show up as well) and because it is on very dark cardstock. In most cases though, I think it works well. So here it is. TIP: Squeeze a small amount of Tombo Multi Glue (white with green lid) onto your finger tip and spread onto vellum in a very thin layer. It dries extremely fast this way so you have to work quickly. In this case I mostly glued down the edges.

I hope you like! I'm not sure about the white box bow at the top corner. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out how/what to fix with it, but I'm just not sure, short of removing it altogether. What do you think? I have a Baha satin ribbon just like it but wider which I forgot about until my card was together. I think I'd probably like that better because it wouldn't stand out as much. But would the box box still be too much? Maybe a knot would be better and would symbolize "tying the knot" so to speak...

Anyway, I hope you try out Dawn's color challenge sometime- she is super talented!

Glad to have you here!

~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Oval All, Floral Background

Paper: White Vellum Cardstock, Baha Breeze, Chocolate Chip

Ink: Chocolate chip

Accessories: Clear EP, Scallop oval punch, Wide Oval Punch, Big Shot, Manhattan Flower embossing folder, rhinestone brad, white taffeta ribbon

WARNING: read before scrolling down

I promised I would give fair warning if I share some of my scrapbook pages I completed this week so consider this it! As I mentioned yesterday hunting and trapping is an everyday part of life at my house so I have an entire album dedicated to it (this also ensures that all my other albums are "safe" for anyone who would prefer to not see this aspect of our lives). We refer to it as our Critters No Moore album which is obviously a play on our last name, and the name of my hubby's nusiance trapping business.

I know not everyone is accustomed to this and would want to see pictures of dead animals so I am first posting a card then you can proceed with caution if you want to see more. I will link the pages in a small format so you can click on them to make them larger if you are interested in detail. I hope that works for everyone! And just to clarify, I do not participate in these activities. I enjoy the outdoors and the adventure, but that's it. I don't necessarily enjoy scrapping these either, but this is great bonding time for my husband and kiddos and they very much appreciate and enjoy the album; so much that I couldn't refuse!

So here's a card I made today.

In case you haven't seen it yet, this is using the new Manhattan Flower Embossing Folder! Isn't it beautiful?! This is black cardstock but I have used an old technique to shimmer it up- namely, Pearl Ex in hairspray sprayed all over the whole thing. The ribbon is from Valet Ribbon Originals (new to me) and the sentiment is Oval All layered with the new scallop oval punch! I really wanted the sentiment to look silky and sophisticated like the raised roses so I embossed it in black on glossy white cardstock, then watercolord the flower a bit. The two tiny dew drops at the bottom are the only thing that is not from Stampin' Up!. They were a gift from my pal Lisa (found them Lisa!) so I don't know the brand. Hope you like it!

Now on to the scrapbook pages:

Great Catch! First day of trapping season. This layout was done with the new Simply Scrappin' Kit Hoppy Memories. Both layouts were inspired by sketches on SCS I believe.

Wanted: Dead or Alive. Daughter's first squirrel hunt.

Hardcore Trappers. Hides from the entire 2006 season.

Thanks for stopping by! Don't worry, no more scrapbook pages tomorrow! ;)

~Kristin