embossed borders

This is another new Cuttlebug release that I received this week. These are the With Love embossed borders. I used four of the five borders that came with this set in making this card. I ran the single row of dots through twice to make two rows of dots on the left edge of the card. I ran the patterned paper by Inque Boutique through the flower folder three times. I was going to keep it simple and do a single embossed image, but I accidentally debossed, so I ran it through twice more, embossing those times.

NOTE TO SELF: Break that habit of always thinking that the side printed with the "Cuttlebug" logo is the front of the folder! It isn't! It's on the back of these new dies!

The flourish and "with love" sentiment is another border. The flowers and flourishes on the right side is the fourth border of this set that I used. I accented the embossing with Memento dye inks. The pointy end of the dew drop pad can be very handy for adding these accent colors.

It's such fun to have new Cuttlebug products to play with!

Had to play!

Got back from a week of vacationing and visiting family yesterday. I was thrilled to see that some of my Cuttlebug preorders had arrived while we were gone. Today I had to pull one of them out so that I could play a bit before tackling laundry, or heading to the grocery store, and that sort of thing. After all, I hadn't crafted all week!

Here are a couple of cards that I made using the new Friends Forever Cut and Emboss combo die and embossing folder.


The first thing that I noticed about this set is that the flowers are debossed, not embossed. Now usually that's not a big deal to me, but I really think that this would have been nicer embossed. I feel like that would have allowed me to do more with it. Yeah, I could flip it over and use the back, but of course that changes the layout--it's a mirror image--and it "feels" off as a card layout.

So, I tried a different approach. I ran Core'dinations cardstock through the folder instead. I used my sanding block to change the color of the non-debossed areas. Then I decided to try to add more "pop" to the flowers, and I ended up adding bling, Stickles, and Liquid Pearls. I finished by adding one of the die cut phrases from this set and embellishing with a small bow.

This next card was actually made with the first piece of paper that I'd put through inside the new embossing folder. I usually like the look of embossing on patterned paper, but the debossing seemed lost. This is patterned paper by Inque Boutique, by the way.


I ended up trying to bring out that debossed image a bit more, again. This time I used some EZ Tintz by FiberScraps. I applied it directly to my folder, gave it a very light misting of water, and closed the paper inside the folder to transfer some of the ink. It wasn't quite the look I'd been going for, but it was enough to add a little visual interest to the debossing. Again I added a phrase from the die that came with this set, and I distressed it with some Memento ink. I added the fibers for a bit more embellishment.

spring cards in summer

Okay, I wasn't referring to spring, the season, but spring, as in that gizmo that would go "boing" if you pressed down on it.

These are a couple of cards that I made using a template that I saw on Splitcoaststampers. They are Spring Cards. I've linked the tutorial for you. I made two of them from one piece of 12 X 12 patterned cardstock. I decided to try for a couple of different looks, just to see if I could do it.

The patterned cardstock is by K & Company and is double-sided. Just a piece of advice, using double-sided paper is fine, just maybe choose something that is not striped on the back when you try this for the first time. It can be tough to see your score lines. There's a reason why I know this. ;-)


The stamped images and sentiment are by Inque Boutique and stamped with Memento dye inks. The toad/frog is a Cuttlebug, more specifically, a Cuttlekids, die cut.


Here you can see how this card neatly folds flat and would be easy to fit in an envelope to mail. It's 5 1/2" by 5 1/2".

This second card was going to be more serious, but still ended up being somewhat light-hearted because of the colors.


The stamp images and sentiment are by My Sentiments Exactly and stamped using Memento dye inks. I embellished with Prima flowers and leaves. The centers are Liquid Pearls.

Happy 4th of July

We're spending a nice mellow holiday here. Mild weather. Sunny skies. We've slowcooked ribs on the grill. Ahhhhh!

I also managed to do a little cardmaking. Not a holiday related card, but still. Can a day get much better?


I stamped the background the other night with silhouette stamp images from Inque Boutique that I'd inked with Perfect Resist by Stampinback. I should have mentioned before that Stampinback is a company based in Norway, but I'd ordered my Perfect Resist through I Brake for Stamps, a great online shop that also carries some of Stampinback's line of rubber stamp images. The sentiment is also by Inque Boutique. The background was colored with EZ TintZ by Fiber Scraps. The butterfly is a Spellbinders chipboard die cut spritzed with Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels.

Hope everyone celebrating the 4th of July today enjoys a safe and happy holiday. :-)

granite resist

I finally got my hands on some Perfect Resist by Stampinback the other day. I'd been wanting to try this stuff since I first heard of it. I put some in a mister and gave it a go. It was fun! Here's what I have to show for my first attempts.

This first resist was spritzed on glossy and allowed to dry. I then added color DTP using my Memento dye ink dew drops. I love how it turned out! It was similar to a polished stone look, but more like granite than marble because of the speckling. I then stamped the butterfly image by About Art Accents using more Memento inks in various colors, and stamped over them again in black. The purple layer was embellished with the floral lace Martha Stewart/EK Success edge punch and embossed with the Perfectly Paisley Cuttlebug A2 embossing folder. The flowers are Primas. The sentiment is by Impression Obsession and stamped with Tuxedo black Memento ink.

These next two backgrounds were also made by spritzing Perfect Resist on glossy cardstock and allowing it to dry. This time I added color by spraying over that with two complementary colors of Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels.

This ATC was stamped with an image from I Brake For Stamps.

The dragon in this card is also from I Brake For Stamps. The sentiment is by Inque Boutique. The edging was done using Martha Stewart/EK Success edge punches.

Can't wait to see what else this resist can do!

Two cards from before the hiatus

I made these two cards a couple of weeks ago, but didn't find the time to photograph them and upload them until today.


This one was made using the Sizzix XL scalloped card die in my Big Shot. The main flower image and the sentiment are both by Cornish Heritage Farms. The background flower images are by Tim Holtz. I used Core'dinations cardstock cut with a Nestabilities scalloped rectangle die and embossed with the Cuttlebug A2 script embossing folder for the main image layer. I also used the Martha Stewart Lace Doily border punch to embellish.

This next card was a lot of fun to make. I'd found a huge package of chipboard on clearance at Joann's not too long ago. I'd never really used chipboard much. I like the look, but I'm not patient enough to paint it and let it dry, and I'm not enthralled by the notion of covering it with patterned paper and having to do all of that cutting and gluing. Well, the layer with my Inque Boutique sentiment is chipboard and so is the star. They were regular old chipboard color, but I inked them up with Adirondack pigment inks and they looked great! Love the way that pigment ink covers! The colors are so vibrant, too. I embellished the stamping with some accents using my Inkssentials opaque white pen and a black Pigma micron pen, and voila! It was an easy card with some fun added dimension. Can't wait to do more. :-)

a few more Cuttled cards

I seem to have a lot of Cuttled card fronts just waiting to have something done to them. I got around to doing some stamping, so I thought I'd post a few of those cards that I've finished.


This first card was made doing some diagonal Cuttling of a Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. The stamped flower image is by Imaginisce the sentiment is a Studio G stamp. Both were stamped using Memento dye ink and then colored with Prismacolor colored pencils blended with Goo Gone and accented with Copic Spica glitter pens. The orange border was made with the Fiskars Lacy Days of Summer border punch.


This next card was made with the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder. I'd partially Cuttled to leave spaces for stamping sentiments. The stamps were all by Inkadinkado and stamped with Memento ink. The scalloped circle was made using a Spellbinders petite scalloped circle Nestabilities die.


This last card was made by creative Cuttling using the Mini Mosaic Cuttlebug embossing folder. The stamped images and sentiments are by Inque Boutique, stamped using Memento dye inks, and colored with Prismacolor colored pencils. The blending was done using Goo Gone.

Ahhh, it's nice to do some crafting. :-)

Shaking Things Up

Maybe it was because of the earthquake that startled me awake this morning at about 4:40am, or maybe it was because I'd read a comment on a stamping forum that said that scalloped Nestabilities and shape dies are overused and boring, but I decided to shake things up a little and make a card that's not my typical style, and I wanted to use some Nestabilities in a way other than just layering on a cardfront. I've always thought that if something has become boring, it's probably because it's not being used creatively enough. So instead of complaining--do something about it! :-)

Here's what I came up with.


This is an accordian card. I used the spiral clips to hold it closed for now. The stamped images are by Inque Boutique and stamped using chalk inks. The flowers and leaves are Primas. The patterned paper is by K & Company. And yes, I'm using more Robin's Nest dew drops.


This is the card unclipped. I'd used my scalloped rectangle Nestabilities dies to make those parts that stick out from the fold. They're still attached because I only ran them through my die machine part of the way. I described that here a while back: partial Nesties. I did layer a smaller scalloped rectangle on top of both to add color and interest. I'd used my Scor-It to make all of the score lines and folds for this card.


That's a view of the card completely open. The sentiment is by Hero Arts.

I hope that this may have started some creative wheels turning. Nestabilities dies are like Cuttlebug embossing folders, shaped punches, clear stamps, and any of the other tools that are popular in crafting. You can use them the usual way and make gorgeous works of art, but you can also use them creatively to give them a new twist and sometimes a new lease on life. :-)

Arrow - Wednesday Stamper, take 2

As I was saying yesterday, arrows are not an element that I generally use in my cardmaking. I dug out an Autumn Leaves clear stamp arrow last night and decided to try using it today for my second try at a Wednesday Stamper Arrow challenge card.


This is very different from my usual cards, both in terms of composition and the way that I go about making my cards. This was much more free-form, but I think in the end it worked (maybe?), and it definitely was a challenge for me and out of my comfort zone.

Getting punchy

I finally found some time to do some crafting. I had some new toys to try out, so these cards are the result of that playing.

For this first card I used some of the new Basic Grey Sultry line. Then I used the Tonic border punch system to add the floral accents to the patterned cardstock border. A Fiskars corner punch embellished the red layer. The rose frame is a Cuttlebug die and emboss combo. It doesn't show up well in the photo, but I'd chalked the embossed parts of that frame with pink and green shimmery chalks. The stamped images are by Dee Gruenig.


For this next card I used a piece of polished stone that I'd made some time back. I stamped the row of trees three times without reinking. That image is by Cornish Heritage Farms. The sentiment is by Inque Boutique. This time for the border I used my Tonic Regal punch and border system on the yellow textured cardstock. I embellished with Robin's Nest Dew Drops.


Feels good to get back into crafting after a short hiatus. :-)

Plastic Fantastic - DCM

It's Friday. The weather's been crummy. What a great time for working on a challenge! This week's daring cardmakers challenge is Plastic Fantastic. Here's the dare from Rhi: I dare you to look again at the plastic packaging around you and transform it into a brand new card. It could be food packaging, craft packaging or just something plastic that's destined for the bin or recycling. Trim it, die cut it, alcohol ink it, crop-o-dile it, give it a new lease of life then share it via your blog for us all to see. Happy Recycling! Perfect! I have some plastic packaging that I can put to good use for this one. Sometimes it's good not to be too organized and get things out to the trash.

This first card features a piece of craft packaging that I embossed with the Bloom Dots Cuttlebug folder. The sentiment is by My Sentiments Exactly.


I couldn't resist making one more card from plastic destined for the recycle bin. For this one I used the nightingale and swirls from a stamp set by Inque Boutique. The sentiment is by Hero Arts. The decorative border was made using a Fiskars border punch.


Who knew that recycling could be so much fun? :-)