Scrapnextras

New Card Maps with Becky Fleck!

***I have two posts today! Scroll down or click here to see my Sew Easy post!

Hi folks! Becky Fleck, author of Pagemaps, is revealing her September CardMaps today on her website www.pagemaps.com, and I am sharing one of the sketches she has created!

Here's my take on it!

I used the new Authentique Christmas collection called "Wonder"...I just love it! I created a little fan fold embellie and topped it with one of the die cuts from the collection. I added the sentiment panel after adhering it to a piece of grungeboard to give it a little more presense. The border strip and the postage element are also from the Authentique die cut sheet. I finished it with a few buttons some Rouge Liquid Pearls and voila!

Want more? Hop around to see more of Becky's sketches and samples!

• Beate Johns
  Julie Koerber
• Silke Ledlow
• Tammy Hershberger
  Daniel Kennedy
  Barbara Anders
• Mona Pendleton
• Stacy Morgan

Don't forget to scroll down for my Sew Easy post...you could win a Sew Easy tool! Thanks for dropping by and have a great day!

Three Trees Sketch Challenge

 
Hi friends!  I saw sketch challenge #304 on Splitcoast Stampers yesterday, and I loved it instantly, so I knew I would end up giving it a whirl.  In fact I even knew which stamps I would use, because a week or so ago, I had stamped these trees and then had a heck of a time working them into a card.  So I put them in an envelope and stashed them away for a rainy day.  Well, it didn't really rain, but I thought they would work perfectly with this sketch!

 Stamps:  Merry Christmas Trees (Hero Arts)
Ink: Versamark
Paper:  Prism Simply Smooth Ivory, Melon Mambo, Cool Caribbean, Kiwi Kiss, DP Webster's Pages
Accessories:  Oval dies (Spellbinders), Swiss Dots EF, Winter White ep (SU), Champagne Pearls (Kaiser)

Now I will tell you I fiddled with this card for 24 hours at least.  The center section came together in minutes, but the card front took me forever to make a decision on.  I had picked the colours from Echo Park's "Everybody Loves Christmas" paper, but when I put it together, either the pattern was either too big, or too dark or had too much green or not enough pink.  Then I proceeded to pull out every Christmas paper I had from MME to Basic Grey, and finally settled on this snowflake pattern from Webster's Pages.  I'm still not happy with it, but at this point, I've concluded that nothing will make me happy LOL!   Oh my...I have issues LOL!

The stamp set is Hero Art's Merry Christmas Trees and they are stamped and embossed on Cool Caribbean, Kiwi Kiss and Melon Mambo cardstock.  I cut them out and adhered them to the oval and layered it on Melon Mambo.  The blue DP is Echo Park, and the Kiwi Kiss below is embossed with my Swiss Dots folder.  I tried ribbon and couldn't make it work and ended up finishing with some Champagne pearls in each corner. 

I'm back tomorrow with Flourishes Friday...I hope you'll be able to join me then!  Have a fabulous day and thanks so much for dropping by! 

Weekend Sketch Challenge

I finally made time to do Beate's Weekend Sketch challenge #47.  I really like Beate's sketches as they are usually very versatile, in that you can work with just about any stamp set.  However the weekends aren't always my best stamping days, so I haven't done one for a while.  But this Sunday was Mother's Day, so I treated myself to some extra stamping time and here's what I came up with.

I wanted to keep it fairly simple, and I have been enjoying working with designer papers and that's how this card came to be.  I started with a base of white card stock, and from my designer scraps chose a piece of Summer Picnic and Real Red Prints DP.  I pieced them together and layered them on Wild Wasabi.  I hadn't yet used the Real Red striped grosgrain ribbon I just "had" to have, so I tied it around the designer papers and attached that section to the base with dimensionals. 

The sentiment from "Small Sayings" a retired set, is stamped with Versafine Onyx black on white.  The cherries were coloured with markers direct to rubber and stamped to the left of the sentiment then the section was cut out with an oval nestability.  I layered it on a scalloped oval in Wild Wasabi and attached it to the front panel with dimensionals.  As a finishing touch, I added three tiny red gems (ICONs by MAMBI).  That's all there is.  Clean and simple.

My in-laws are going to drop in tomorrow to celebrate Amy's birthday, so I am going to postpone Technique Tuesday until Wednesday.  I do have a sneak peak of the new Verve stamps I will schedule to post tomorrow, so I will have something to share!

I hope you are having a wonderful Monday!  Thanks for dropping by.  I love it when you do!

Double Challenge Card

Hey, thanks for dropping by again!  I figured I might post twice today, I just had to get this one photographed, since I finished it yesterday.  I combined this week's Colour and Sketch challenges for this card, and I think it turned out pretty nice.

We had to work with Lovely Lilac, Pretty in Pink and Certainly Celery, and follow the sketch, with the offset half circles.

Stampin' Up! has extended the expiry dates on the Occasion Mini Catalogue to June 30, so that made me reach for "Just Celebrate", which is available in the mini, now until June 30th! 

The card base is Pretty in Pink, standard size, top told, and a layer of Lovely Lilac Follows. I chose a Certainly Celery Prints designer paper for the foreground and used the ticket corner punch on the corners, and added gold brads.

The circle is Pretty in Pink, and I wheeled it with the Petals jumbo wheel in Pretty in Pink ink.  The circle was cut with the largest Nestability circle template, then I folded to determine the centre, and cut it in half, positioning it as per the sketch.

The cake from "Just Celebrate" is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black, and coloured with my markers and aquapainter. For the icing I couldn't resist adding some Cotton Candy stickles, and some gold stickles for the flames on the candles.  I stamped Celebrate on the lower portion of the whisper white panel, then tied Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon around the belly.  I used the corner punch again and layered it on Pretty in Pink, then Lovely Lilac, and added gold brads in the corners.

I decided that it needed more sparkle, so I dabbed some Crystal Stickles on the dots in the Petals wheel image, and called it done!

My oldest DD is having her birthday party tomorrow, and we are going to the school dance as part of the activity!  Woohoo...cheap and "clean house" fun!  I don't know why I didn't think of that before.  Her birthday isn't until next week, and we will have a family celebration then.  I don't know how my day will go so if you don't see a post tomorrow, you will know we are partying big time! 

I hope your weekend is shaping up for lots of fun for you!  Thanks for dropping by...I always love it when you do!

Amy's Sketch

Happy Thursday!  I have two very different cards to share this morning,  both using the same basic sketch!  Amy (Heartfelt Greetings) is back with her Super Sketch Sundays, and I am having a blast working with them.  Amy uses designer paper with much more comfort than I do, but using her sketches is giving me more confidence mixing up my papers, because she always makes the requirement of using patterned paper!  I also love being able to make beautiful things from scraps, and making even a small dent in the mountain of scrap designer papers I have amassed makes me happy!

I hadn't pulled out "Doodle This" in quite a while, so I thought it was time to show it off again!  It was my favorite set when it first came out, and I still love the whimsical feel of it.

The card base is Whisper White, and I layered 4 different colours of the Prints designer papers as per the sketch. (Rose Red, Certainly Celery, Pretty in Pink, Almost Amethyst)  It made me think of a quilt, so I pierced around the outer edges to add to that feel. 

I stamped the smaller flower from "Doodle This" in Versafine Onyx black on Whisper White, and watercoloured it using my markers and aquapainter.  A bit of Crystal Effects was added to the little swirly dot on each of the petals, and I love the pop it gives! The sentiment is from Verve Visual's "Happy Thoughts", and it is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black.  I added piercing to the corners and tied a strip of Pretty in Pink gingham ribbon around the bottom.  The white panel is layered on Certainly Celery, and then attached to a panel of Pretty in Pink.  The right hand border of the Pretty in Pink panel was scalloped using the corner rounder, then each scalloped was pierced in keeping with the rest of the card.  When it was all put together it really seemed to need something else...something to match the shine on the flower, so I added some clear baubles in the corners, and then I called it done!  Isn't it just the prettiest spring birthday card?

I did another using the same sketch, this time using up some of the papers from the retired Brocade Backgrounds papers.  This time I chose to work with "Stitched Exotics", a set that I got recently, that I haven't put to ink often enough.

I started with a Chocolate Chip base layered with River Rock and the scraps were placed as per the sketch.  The centre panel is Very Vanilla, and the large flourish stamp is stamped twice in Chocolate Chip.  The flower was inked in River Rock,  and the outline of dots was inked in Chocolate Chip using the marker.  I stamped it on a scrap of Very Vanilla and cut it out.  The smallest flower was stamped on scrap in Old Olive and punched out with the 1/2" circle punch, and placed on a Build a Brad, which was added to the centre of the flower.  The flower is adhered to the panel with dimensionals, and piercing added to the edges of the panel.  It it then mounted on River Rock and Chocolate Chip card stock. 

The sentiment is from the retired hostess set "So Many Sayings", and was punched out with the Word Window punch and then adhered to the upper right hand portion of the focal panel, which is adhered to the card with dimensionals.

I had planned posting this yesterday, but time got away on me.  So I will probably end up with two posts today!  I hope you'll be able to pop back a bit later.

Have a good one!

Black and White Petals

I just got this stamp set, so in true Laura fashion, I had to try it out!  I have seen the most beautiful things done with it so while it didn't appeal to me that much in the catalogue, I quickly changed my mind after seeing a few cards made with it.  If you aren't familiar with this background stamp, do check out the gallery at SCS, and you'll know what I mean!

I love the way people have painstakingly coloured it in with markers...it really comes to life.  However, I thought it would look great in black and white too, and I am quite pleased with this card.  I used Beate's weekend sketch (WSC41) as my starting point, although I changed it a bit, so it isn't quite the same as the sketch. I also wanted to participate in Jen's Limited Supply Challenge, which was to use an embellishment that you purchased and now wonder why it was so important at the time.  Well, I purchased this ribbon about six months ago, because I saw it everywhere on Splitcoast Stampers.  So I had to have it, because then all my creations would look just as wonderful!  Well I have never used it.  I don't do a lot of black and white, and even as I use it here, I'm not sure if polka dots really work with the whole floral theme...another condition of the challenge.  However, I can now justify the purchase, and if I could only find a way to use the pink and white polka dot organdy ribbons I bought with it, I would be so happy! 

The base is Basic Black card stock standard size, and it's layered with Whisper White textured card stock embossed with the Cuttlebug...one of the gifts my "Elf" Dawn (stampingscotsgirl on SCS) sent me!  I don't know the name of the folder, but it sure is pretty, and really works well with this stamp!  Next the Pretty Petals stamp is inked in Versafine Onyx Black and stamped on Whisper White, and layered onto Basic Black and adhered to the card.  The hardware piece is from the new Styled Silver Hodge Podge Hardware available in the Occasions Mini.  A 1" circle of Basic Black fits perfectly inside.  The sentiment is from a retired hostess set "In the Spotlight", and it is stamped in Versafine Onyx Black on Whisper White, then punched out with the 3/4" circle punch.   It's adhered to the Basic Black circle with a dimensional.  A strand of polka dot organdy ribbon (Dots and Dashes) is threaded through the hardware piece and tied off.  I didn't centre it as in the sketch, because it didn't seem right in the centre. 

Really a very simple card!  A little black and white elegance for those elegant people in your life!  I hope to have another to show you.  Things are pretty quiet right now, so I may actually get a second post in.  Then again things could change in an instant...it happens here all the time!  So until next time, I hope you are starting off a fabulous weekend! 

Sketch Challenge Cards

Well, I should be scrapbooking, but since I have a couple of classes coming up, I wanted to work on the projects for them.  I like them to be beautiful, but simple, which is not always easy.  I also like to avoid having a lot of pieces for each project, keeping the focus on the stamping rather than the construction.  So the cool thing this weekend, was all the wonderful sketch challenges!  I looked at Beate's, Jen's and Sharon's and thought they were all great candidates for class projects!  So I started stamping!     

These were both made with Beate's sketch.  Since one of my upcoming classes is a Sale-a-Bration class, I am working exclusively with the SAB sets. 

Both of these cards feature the Sale-a-Bration set "Merci".  The card on the left features something old and something new!  The paper is Spring Showers which retired last July, and the brads and ribbon slider are from the new, Styled Silver Hodge Podge Hardware kit, a sneak peek into the new Occasion's Mini which will be available.  I used Sahara sand as my background and watercoloured using markers and my aqua painter, a technique that Julie Buhler developed, and I think you will enjoy trying this watercoloring technique!  The card on the right features the Aged Copper hodge podge kit, Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke prints designer paper, and So Saffron.

These cards I did with Sharon Johnson's sketch.  I chose the Sale-a-Bration set "Merci" again and the retired designer paper Spring Showers for the left one.  The colours are Blush Blossom, Mellow Moss and the ribbon is the gorgeous Chocolate Chip satin ribbon from the Theatre Ribbon Originals collection.

The card on the right features "Birthday Whimsy" and uses Certainly Celery card stock and Prints designer paper, and Regal Rose card stock and ribbon.  It's hard to see unless you enlarge the image, but the candles were coloured yellow, and then I added Dazzling Diamonds to them.  Love the final result!

I based these two on Jen's sketch!  I guess I was into red.  Both use the SAB set "So Many Scallops" 

On the left is another sneak peek in the Occasions Mini Collection, which previews March 1st.  The designer paper is "Summer Picnic" which I thought worked so well with the "You're so Sweet" sentiment on the flower stamp!  I punched a 1/2" circle from another print from the same pack to make the Build a Brad.  I crimped the Wild Wasabi strip and added gingham ribbon to finish. 

Now I wasn't sure I would have enough of the Summer Picnic paper, so for the card on the right I decided to work with Cerise, which retired in December.  I used Bashful Blue card stock as well as the Prints designer paper available in the level 1 hostess pack.  I used the same gingham ribbon, and added a Bashful Blue brad in the center of the snowflake.  Not sure of this one, but at this point nothing is set in stone.

I will be moving Sale-a-Bration class up to Tuesday, March 4th.  It will run twice, at 10:00am and again at 7:00pm.  Don't forget to register early for the classes to take advantage the early bird discount.  See my Upcoming Events page for more information!

I hope you're having a wonderful long weekend...at least it is here in Alberta!  Even if it's a short normal weekend...I hope it's been awesome!

Happy Mail

I just love getting mail that either A) comes in a big envelope or B) has a handwritten address.  You just know it's not going to be a bill or a flyer!  So yesterday I opened my mail to find a RAK (Random Act of Kindness) from Julee at www.poeticartistry.blogspot.com !  You recall this post, where I had to share my exciting news about winning on her sketch challenge, well she sent me a little package and a card she made! 

This is such a gorgeous card, and you should see it in real life!  I tried to capture the sparkle as best I could, and you can see it a little better if you click for a larger image.  She even put stickles on the flower...so cool, I will have to try that!  Her colouring skills are far beyond mine...and I just love her colour choices!  She posted this card on her blog here, so you can read all the "deets" as she refers to them.  I'm so happy to receive it! 

Along with the card she sent me some gorgeous 6x6 papers!  I just love them.  You can see little scraps in the picture, well she didn't send me scraps...I just had to cut into them and make a card!  It's always so much fun to have new stuff to play with, and I try to use new stuff as soon as I get it...a new rule I have for myself as I try to get past my "hoarding" issues!

I had several goals as I made this card.  I thought I would make a card for Julee... "J" is for Julee! (and it is also the 3rd letter in the word enjoy..which I don't have a stamp for!) Secondly, I saw that some of the papers were a perfect match to Purely Pomegranate...and I just love that colour!  I also wanted to use some of my retiring stamp sets, you know..just one last fling before they're gone!  I used three retiring sets for this card!  Label Classics, it just fit the vintage kind of feel these papers have, and makes a perfect frame for the monogram; Alphabits, love them for doing some cool formatting, or for those sentiments that aren't quite on a stamp yet; and Headline Alphabet, which I used for the "J".   I also used Julee's Mojo Monday sketch 15 !  I love the way it came together. 

I stamped the letters on Very Vanilla textured cardstock, and the texture gives that sketchy look...(click above to get a larger view) with Purely Pomegranate.  I punched out the letters and popped them up.  For the "J" I stamped it on Very Vanilla textured cardstock in Soft Sky Classic Ink, and rock and rolled it in Purely Pomegranate! I used the Three for You flower punch to punch the flower that adorns the "J", and added a circle in Soft Sky, then a little rhinestone from K & Co.  The velvet ribbon is from Flirty, a ribbon original from Stampin' UP!'s winter mini 2007, and it's a much better match in real life!  I am so pleased with the way it turned out, I almost hate to send it off!

Happy Stamping!  Got lots more to show you so stay tuned!

Friday's Fast and Fabulous projects: A card with the December Sketch

Friday's are my favorite days!  It's the end of the week, a halt in most routines, and a night to stay up late and stamp!   However, my day is usually spent getting ready for the weekend and stamping time is at a premium.  If I do get to steal some stamping time, it's got to be fast, so I thought I would share some of my "fast" projects on Fridays. 

This card uses a couple of the things that I think make stamping fast.  Markers for colouring, and scraps for layers, and a sketch..actually the December sketch I featured in my December Newsletter!  I am working with Time Well Spent, the free Hostess Set that Stampin' Up! sent to all it's demonstrators...yes I know, again!  I can't help it.  For one, it's new, and two, it's just an awesome set!

I started with a Rose Red base, and chose Confetti Cream for my focal layer.  I stamped the flowers in Basic Black first, to position them, and then I stamped the stems and leaves.  I used markers to colour with and I went with Rose Red, Almost Amethyst, So Saffron and Certainly Celery.  This is the colour combination of last year's Sweet Shop ribbon originals, and also the colours our Palette o'Prints came in last May.  Love, love this colour combination, and I was so glad it showed up this year in the Fairy Tale ribbon originals!  By the way, that's another "fast" element, having my colour scheme all picked out!

Once the card was coloured, I found a strip of Confetti Cream and stamped the sentiment "Too Much of a Good Thing is a Good Thing" in Basic Black, and coloured in the flowers.  I layered it on scraps of the corresponding colours, and voila!  I think this took me about 15 minutes!  So you know what I did?  I made two!  I thought it would be fun to step it up a bit...just a bit, and this is what I came up with:

The card is pretty much the same as the first, but here I stamped three more flowers on a scrap, coloured them in and cut them out.  I mounted them on Stampin' Dimensionals which gives a kind of paper tole look!  I also sponged the outer edges of the Confetti Cream with So Saffron ink, and although you can't see it, I dabbed a little bit of 2-way glue on each of the little dots in the flower centres and sprinkled on Dazzling Diamonds glitter.  In real life it almost seems like the dots are moving, the way it sparkles.  The scraps are a little different, because they were scraps.  Anyway, I hope you enjoyed seeing how just a little bit extra can step up a card.  Be sure to click on the images to see them in their full glory!

I hope you have a great weekend! Happy Stampin'!

Recipe:  Stamp Set:  Time Well Spent  Paper:  Confetti Cream, Rose Red, So Saffron, Almost Amethyst  Ink:  Basic Black  Accessories:  2 way glue pen, Stampin' Dimensionals, Stampin' Write Markers  Embellishments:  Dazzling Diamonds Glitter

Sharing some excitement!

Who else can I share my excitement with?  DH really doesn't get it, and my dd's gave me a "that's nice", but I am thrilled.  Julee Tilman hosts a Mojo Monday challenge on her blog www.poeticartistry.blogspot.com .  She posts an awesome sketch, a sample and then it's your turn.  Here is Mojo Monday's sketch #12 from last week:

I just loved the symmetry of it, and well you know I love square cards, so I put my mojo up to the challenge with this card.  And guess what?  I won!  I am so thrilled...what a way to start the week!   

Julee has her Mojo Monday #13 challenge posted already, so I dare you to muster up some Mojo, and give it a shot.  Maybe this Monday will be the start of a great week for you too!

Thanks for letting me share some of my excitement!  Hope you are having as wonderful a week as I am!  Happy Stampin'

Laura

Recipe:  Stamp Set:  Fabulous Flowers, Tres Chic, All Holidays  Paper:  Creamy Caramel, Bravo Burgundy, Very Vanilla, Always Artichoke Prints Designer Paper  Ink:  Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke, Regal Rose  Accessories:  Stampin' Dimensionals  Embellishments:  Hodge Podge Hardware, Bravo Burgundy grosgrain ribbon, Ice Stickles, Circle Rhinestone Brad