HAPPY EASTER

At my March Stamp-In Workshop -- before all this social distancing began -- my girls created an Easter card I'd designed for them as one of their projects.

The previous photo did not show the color of the rhinestones very well. Actually, looking closer, this photo doesn't depict them very well either. But, the rhinestones are from the Noble Peacock Rhinestones (page 178 of the Annual Catalog).

I really struggled while designing this card. After I had the card prototype completed, I was not happy with the way it popped open to expose the inside before I wanted it exposed. I tried all sorts of clips as closures. But nothing seemed right. So I set it aside after several failures.

While discussing my dilemma with my very noncreative husband, he said, "Why don't you do something like you do for other cards, that band, or whatever you call it?" Why, yes, Pat! Excellent idea.

So I modified the outside of the card a bit from my prototype and came up with this -- belly band included! -- instead.

Are you ready to experience the grand opening? Here goes:

Ah! The chick is hatching! Oh, and a cute sentiment!

The chick is completely hatched! Welcome to the world, Little One! 

I left the bottom flap blank 

so the sender could write something and/or sign the card.

This adorable chick and the flower are from the Full of Happiness set, found on page 44 of the Mini Catalog. Isn't he just the cutest?

Keep on reading to discover how you can make a card like this yourself!

SUPPLIES:

Soft Seafoam cardstock

Whisper White cardstock

A pink striped retired strip of Designer Series Paper

Full of Happiness set (page 44, Mini Catalog)

Retired sentiment

Mango Melody ink 

Balmy Blue ink

Grapefruit Grove ink

Highland Heather ink

Noble Peacock Rhinestones (page 178, Annual Catalog)

Highland Heather ribbon

Stampin' Dimensionals

Tape

INSTRUCTIONS:

Take a 4" x 8" piece of Soft Seafoam cardstock, and, with the Simply Scored, score it at 2", flip it, and score at 2" again. Fold on the score lines to make a sort of gatefold card.

Ink up the striped half of the egg in Highland Heather ink. Close to the open edge, stamp the egg. Repeat this on the other flap so the two halves of the eggs meet nicely in the middle.

Now go to the inside of this piece.

Add a 3 3/4" square piece of pink cardstock to the center portion.

You will be doing the chick stamping on a 3 1/2" square of Whisper White cardstock. I started with the feet in Grapefruit Grove ink. Matching the body carefully over the feet, stamp the chick in Mango Melody. Add in a Grapefruit Grove beak, and eyes of Balmy Blue. I have stamped this chick several times since I created this card, and find it easier to start with the chick's body, then adding the feet, beak and eyes.

In Highland Heather ink, add a few flowers around his feet. Adhere this finished piece to the pink square already inside the card.

On a 1/2" x 3 1/2" strip of Whisper White cardstock, stamp the sentiment in Highland Heather ink. Add this to a 3/4" x 3 3/4" strip of the matching pink. Adhere this to the upper flap.

Leave the bottom flap clear for signing and/or a little note.

Now, on to the belly band:

Wrap a 1" x 9" piece of pink striped DSP around the closed card, tight enough so it looks neat, but not too tight that it cannot be removed or replaced. When you have this strip properly fitted, adhere it together. This joining will be on the top to be covered with the circle and sentiment.

Wrap a piece of Highland Heather ribbon around with the ends meeting at the center. Tape the ends together. I did add a bit of snail adhesive to the back of the ribbon to hold it in place.

On a scrap of Whisper White cardstock, stamp Happy Easter in Highland Heather ink. Cut it out with the Stitched Shapes circle die that measure about 2" across. Use a Stampin' Dimensional on the circle to cover the seams you made with the DSP and the ribbon. Add a few jewels.

Easter

Smiles.

MONDRIAN WANNABE

Did you, by any chance, miss me?

Normally I write and publish my blog posts for Paper Seedlings on Tuesdays and Saturdays without exception. Unless, of course, something occurs to prevent me from doing it.

Well, Tuesday morning I woke up to the dreaded blue screen on my computer. Oh no!! I tried everything that was recommended on the screen, such as diagnosing the problem, then fixing it automatically. I tried this and all that involved four times. Isn't that what they say the definition of insanity is? Doing the same thing over and over (and over), hoping for different results? Well, I proved that was true. I even restarted, rebooted (is that the same?), turned it off, unplugged it, everything my little nontechnical peabrain could think of. With no happy results whatsoever. I'd always been under the impression that the BLUE SCREEN is the KISS OF DEATH for a PC.

With that in mind, I ended up ordering a new computer, with my husband's blessing. When my husband came home from work (and I'd talked to him several times that day and he never mentioned this), and I had just completed the transaction for my new laptop, he mentioned that there was a guy in the next city that is supposed to be good at fixing computers. What?? Why didn't you mention that earlier? And what about the Kiss of Death?

So, I placed a call to this guy and explained my Blue Screen. He informed me that it isn't always the Kiss of Death and he'd look at it. Long story short, he was able to revive my three-year-old HP laptop. He told me I'd gotten a bad update. Huh? I thought updates were supposed to be improvements, not to make things worse. Anyway, I have my computer back and a new one slated to be delivered on Monday.

I'd had a card ready for my Tuesday blog post, but without a computer, it had to be pushed back until the Saturday post (my computer arrived back home yesterday). So, a few days late, here we go.

What do you think of the cool paper on the easel below?

This paper is part of the second release for the freebies from Sale-A-Bration. The Specialty Designer Series Paper is called Flowering Foils, and it is simply lovely. I'd shown you another card I made from this pack of DSP in this blog post, which is conveniently entitled Flowering Foils. 

I cut a portion of the above paper and took my Stampin' Blends to it. And, did I have a wonderful time! 

As I was busy coloring the paper, I had the thought that it sort of resembled the work of Piet Mondrian, a Dutch artist who worked in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Considered one of the great artists of the 20th century, his work is fun to look at.

Below is a copy of Broadway Boogie Woogie, painted towards the end of Mondrian's life. If you're interested in checking out a little more about him and view more of his work, you can do that here. 

Are you reminded of his work at all when looking at how I treated this DSP?

When I took the photos for this post, the weather outside was crummy, and, no matter what I do, that crumminess is always portrayed in my photos. Very frustrating. 

I tried, unsuccessfully, to capture the beauty of the metallic foils on the paper. In the photo below, you can see a bit of the rose gold in the lines.

For my card, I used the following Stampin' Blends: Dark Calypso Coral, Dark Daffodil Delight, Dark Mint Macaron and Light Pretty Peacock.

The large label I used for my Smile sentiment is a die from the Stitched So Sweetly Dies, found on page 20 of the Mini Catalog. This set of dies is wonderful, so varied. I sincerely hope they show up in the new Annual Catalog. 

I colored in the word "smile" with the Light Pretty Peacock Stampin' Blend. 

To try to bring the composition together, I stamped some fluffy little things from a past Paper Pumpkin kit in matching colors, as well as adding a wider strip of Pretty Peacock cardstock topped by a thinner strip of Daffodil Delight cardstock.

This is a card that I don't plan to send to anyone for any occasion. I am going to add it to my growing collection of inspirational cards that I have in my computer room. Little reminders.

Sale-A-Bration ends in just three short days. This Specialty Designer Series Paper, Flowering Foils, is still available for free with a $50 purchase! Hurry!

Wannabe

Smiles.

FLOWERING FOILS

This afternoon, in the midst of all the confusion and angst that our world is experiencing currently, I was driven to do some coloring. And, how relaxing an escape it was! I so appreciate this Creative Therapy I am lucky enough to be able to indulge in during times of stress.

The second release of freebies you can earn during Sale-A-Bration has been available for a little while now. My favorite among these items is the elegant paper, Flowering Foils Specialty Designer Series Paper. 

I became super inspired by all you can do with this luscious paper while watching this video put out by Stampin' Up!. The sheet I used in my card is the one shown on the top of the pack as Natalie goes through the four designs in the video. 

I carefully cut the single flower I planned on coloring away from the rest of the sheet. I used Stampin' Blends in both shades of the Seaside Spray for the flower, Light So Saffron for the center of the flower, and the Light and Dark Soft Sea Foam for the leaves.

Once the coloring was finished, I fussy cut the flower tight against the image lines. I also fussy cut the little dangling buds.

The images on this set of DSP are done in an exquisite metallic silver and rose gold. Even though it is actually rose gold, I had some brushed copper cardstock that I thought complemented the color really well, so I used that as the larger circle that surrounds the smaller embossed circle in Soft Sea Foam on which the flower rests.

I made a mistake when creating the soft green circle for the flower, not following my own instructions that I always give at my workshops: When embossing and die cutting a single piece, ALWAYS do the die cutting first, THEN the embossing. With this card, I wasn't sure of the size of diecut I was going to use, much less the shape of it. So I embossed a 4" x 5 1/4" piece of Soft Sea Foam cardstock with which to work. 

When I finally decided on the circle shape and size, I ran it through the Big Shot for die cutting. And -- woe is me! -- it slightly flattened the embossing. Which, happily, it worked to my satisfaction. The heavily embossed look was just a bit too much for the delicate flower, and would have overpowered it. At least, I tell myself that's the case. 

So, then when it came to using the same Basket Weave embossing folder (page 198 in the Annual Catalog) on the silver metallic cardstock, I first embossed it, and then -- you guessed it! -- I ran it through the Big Shot once more after removing it from the embossing folder to flatten it a bit too. 

Notice the soft embossing in the circle atop 

the equally soft embossing in the silver background. 

To carry on with the faux rose gold coloring by using copper embossing powder, I stamped and embossed the "Happy Day" sentiment from the darling Itty Bitty Greetings set (page 30, Annual Catalog).

After embossing my sentiment, I used the smallest rectangle die from the Stitched So Sweetly Dies on page 20 of the Mini Catalog. Don't you just love the scalloped edge and the stitching on this die? Perfection!

This is where I used the fussy cut buds I had saved. I just glued them at an angle on the sentiment label before adhering it to the card.

I must admit that, since this set of dies and the glorious Flowering Foils Specialty Designer Series Paper arrived on my doorstep on Tuesday, I have been completely infatuated. So, expect to see more featuring both of these products. I have a few things started already.

If you would like to get some of this beautiful DSP in your hands, there are only ten more days of Sale-A-Bration. Order $50 (before shipping and tax) and a pack of the DSP is all yours! Let me know if I can help!

Specialty 

Smiles.

MEERKAT CELEBRATE

During Sale-A-Bration, which is going on until March 31!, have any of you ordered the SAB freebie, The Gang's All Meer (page 3 in the brochure)? A darling -- very nonserious -- set, it can be used in so many ways. For example, do you remember the huuuuge gang I shared with you in this post, where I incorporated lots of masking? 

In these very uncertain times, we definitely will want to grab all the levity we can. Don't you agree? 

I had lots of <technical> fun figuring out the card my girls made at the March Stamp-In, shown below. With a vision in my head of how I wanted the card to function, it took some trial and error to get it right, so it opens and closes smoothly without any glitches.

The photo below shows the card starting its opening process.

A little closer, more detailed photo of the grand opening, 

I wanted to highlight the beautiful texture of the background 

made possible by a great new embossing folder, Coastal Weave Embossing Folder, 

found on page 39 of the current Mini Catalog. 

Here is a tutorial on how to recreate this card on your own. If you don't already have the Sale-A-Bration set, The Gang's All Meer, now's the time to make a $50 purchase and get your own set for free!

SUPPLIES:

Crumb Cake cardstock

Cherry Cobbler cardstock

The Gang's All Meer (Sale-A-Bration brochure, page 3)

Retired Celebrate stamp (still have yours??)

Memento Tuxedo Black ink

Light Crumb Cake Stampin' Blend

White Gel Pen

Big Shot

Layering Circles dies (page 193, Annual Catalog)

Coastal Weave Embossing Folder (page 39, Mini Catalog)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Take a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Crumb Cake cardstock, and, with the Simply Scored, score at 2 1/8", flip it around, and score at 2 1/8" again. Fold on the score lines and burnish the creases with a bone folder. You just made a traditional gatefold card.

Run two pieces of Cherry Cobbler cardstock that measure 1 7/8" x 5 1/4" through the Big Shot inside the Coastal Weave Embossing Folder. Adhere these to both gatefolds of the card base.

On a 3" piece of Crumb Cake cardstock, stamp the meerkat gang in Memento Tuxedo Black cardstock. Use the Light Crumb Cake Stampin' Blend to color them all in. No need to be careful with the coloring, except skip the teeth on the middle guy. Use a white gel pen to whiten his teeth. Set this aside so the white pen can dry completely.

Using the 2 5/8" die from the Layering Circles Dies, cut a circle from Cherry Cobbler cardstock. Surround this cut-out circle with the scallop die that measures about 3" in diameter. Once you have it centered in place, carefully add a few strips of sticky tape to hold it. Run through the Big Shot. You should have a scalloped open circle.

By now, the white gel pen should be dry. Take that piece with the meerkats on it, and using the same circle you used on the Cherry Cobbler cardstock, center the gang and cut it out.

Adhere the meerkat piece to the left gatefold, putting adhesive only on the left side. This should be approximately centered and about an inch or so from the top of the embossed piece.

Add adhesive to only one half of the scalloped circle. Carefully holding it in place over the meerkat piece for positioning, attach this frame to the left gatefold.

In black, stamp "celebrate" on a piece of Crumb Cake cardstock that measures 1 1/4" x 3". Adhere this piece to the left gatefold.

Katty

Smiles.

#dailycreating OCTOBER 2019

Whoa! Looking back through my drawings from October, it became quite clear that it was not a good month for me to draw. I found only ten -- out of 31! -- drawings that I thought fit enough to share with you. 

I belong to a Facebook Group, #dailycreating, hosted by visual artist and creative encourager Terry Runyan. Each Sunday we members are given a week's worth of prompts that we can either follow or not. Terry is just trying to encourage us to create something every day, whether it is prompt related or something else we are moved to create.

Many of us follow the prompts quite faithfully. I am one of them. Usually. 

It's been a month since I shared my September 2019 creations with you, so I thought it was time for another installment of #dailycreating.

As always, I will include the prompt above each drawing, as well as any particular information I may have about the subject matter.

Here goes:

#hummingbird

#montypythonsflyingcircus

#periodcostumes

#alienlifeform

#edwardgorey

#dogurday

bloodhound

#robot

#red

#green

#blue

I will probably bring you the next installment of #dailycreating a little sooner than a month from now, especially since I am only up to October, and it's the middle of March. Stay tuned!

The Small Print: Please keep in mind that his is my own original artwork. Please don't copy or use any of them without my express permission. Thank you for this consideration.

#dailycreating

Smiles.

THANKS FOR MAKING ME SMILE

This card, which my girls made at the January Stamp-In Workshop, features something from a Hostess Set, something from the Annual Catalog (many things actually) and two of the freebies you can get with purchase during Sale-A-Bration. Keep in mind that Sale-A-Bration ends at the end of this month. Only a few more weeks!! Take advantage before it's too late.

The item from a hostess set is the darling sentiment. It comes from Make A Splash, found on page 73 of the Mini Catalog. Besides the fish and their fishbowl environment which I showed you in this post, Love in a Fishbowl, there are also four cute phrases. This is one of them.

Also featured are the Stitched Rectangles dies on page 196 of the Annual Catalog. I use these dies all the time. They are so great for layering.

The Sale-A-Bration items used in the card include the gorgeous Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper (page 6 in the brochure) and the Lily Pad Dies (page 4).

Following are the Supplies List and the Directions on how to reproduce this card.

SUPPLIES:

Flirty Flamingo cardstock

Whisper White cardstock

Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper (page 6, Sale-A-Bration brochure)

Blackberry Bliss ink

Make A Splash (hostess set, page 73, Mini Catalog)

Big Shot

Lily Pad Dies (page 4, Sale-A-Bration brochure)

Stitched Rectangles Dies (Page 196, Annual Catalog)

Blackberry Bliss Ribbon

Stampin' Dimensionals

INSTRUCTIONS:

Fold a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Whisper White cardstock in half, creasing it well with a bone folder.

Add to this card base a piece of the Lily Impressions Designer Series Paper that measures 4" x 5 1/4".

Using the water lily dies, cut two small and one large flower from Whisper White cardstock. Adhere these flowers to a 1 1/2" X 5" piece of Flirty Flamingo cardstock, with the larger flower in the center, flanked by the two small flowers..

Using Stampin' Dimensionals, attach this to the DSP, leaving even margins on the top and the sides.

On a 3" x 1 1/2" piece of Whisper White cardstock, stamp the sentiment in Blackberry Bliss ink. Use the 7/8" x 2 7/8" Stitched Rectangles Die to cut out the sentiment.

Use the 1 1/4" x 3 1/4" Stitched Rectangles Die to cut a rectangle from Flirty Flamingo cardstock.

Cut a 4 1/2" piece of Blackberry Bliss ribbon. Sandwich the ribbon between the sentiment piece and the Flirty Flamingo piece and glue together. Trim the ends of the ribbon to angles.

Use Stampin' Dimensionals to add the sentiment piece towards the bottom of the card, about 1/2" from the lower edge.

Lily

White

Smiles.

CLEAN AND SIMPLE

When speaking of cardmaking, are you familiar with the term, Clean and Simple, or as it is often referred to, CAS? 

This term refers to a card that is devoid of all the frou-frou you often find in the form of embellishments and layer after layer. A CAS card is one that gets the thought across without all the fuss, but is still attractive to view.

The card I made this afternoon qualifies for the Clean and Simple distinction.

I used absolutely no embellishments whatsoever. I did think about using a smidge of ribbon, but decided to keep it as unembellished as possible. The embossed background is popped up onto the card base with several Stampin' Dimensionals, as is the sentiment, but that's as fancy as I got.

I'm not sure where this colorful piece has been hiding, since I colored it a few years ago. But, I came across it the other day and was sorely tempted to use it in a creation. With my creative juices flowing, I decided on spotlighting the small piece in this way.

The thank you sentiment was stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and cut out with one of the Stitched Shapes dies.

Notice the embossed background! Don't you just love its texture? It is one of the new embossing folders, Coastal Weave 3D Embossing Folder, and can be found on page 39 of the Mini Catalog. Look at the wonderful samples on page 38 of the catalog using the folder. Cool cool cool!

I thought it had just enough interest to serve as the background for the colored piece that already possesses enough busyness without overwhelming it.

Which do you prefer in cards? Clean and Simple or Fussy and Complicated? Sometimes it feels good not to have to spend an hour and a half on a card and still get something beauteous and pleasing.

CAS

Smiles.

LOVE IN A FISHBOWL

I'm not sure why, but I seem to have something of an affinity for fish in captivity. Take me to a pet store, and I have my eyes glued to the fish, especially BIG fish, who always look so weird. It's my favorite aspect of many medical waiting rooms: the big aquariums. My husband and I had a community fish tank for many years when we first married. I adored our huge koi in our pond. My granddaughter, had a carnival goldfish, Luna, for years -- and she grew very large and turned white! I've had bettas on and off over the years. 

I don't know what it is, and it certainly doesn't seem fair to the poor fish. But watching fish in captivity is so relaxing. I guess since I'm not a mermaid able to live with the fishes up close and personal, this is the next best thing.

So, when I spotted the darling hostess set in the new Mini Catalog, I was immediately smitten. Found on page 73, Make A Splash is so very appealing to me. Once again, I couldn't wait to get it in my possession.

I spent quite a lot of time playing with this set, with lots of trial and error. Mostly trial and error. Finally, this image seemed sorta OK, so I decided to make it into a card.

The card is a precious 4 1/4" square. The fishbowl image fits perfectly inside a 3 5/8" circle die, so that's how I cut it out and mounted it with Stampin' Dimensionals against a cute heart-y DSP I had in my stash. 

I stamped the fishbowl itself in Smoky Slate, and added the water line in Pool Party. All the rest of the water stuff was done in Pool Party also. The bit of coloring in the water is accomplished by using an Aqua Painter and removing a bit of color from the Pool Party Watercolor Pencil, and applying it that way. This gives it a little more of a watery appearance..

The two loving fish are stamped in Pumpkin Pie ink. I used a fine line black pen to add details to it. The gravelly bottom was stamped in Crumb Cake and I added a few Pool Party colored sequins at the bottom to complement the air bubbles I'd added by the fish. 

I didn't want to clutter up the front of the card with a big sentiment, so I opted for a very subtle loving sentiment with a bit of baker's twine. 

Captive

Smiles.