Don't BUG Me!

It is SO still the season for catching all those nasty bugs that keep floating around.  I hope you've been able to avoid being in that situation.  On that note we, at the Card A Day Blog, have some Get Well inspirations to share.  I received some really cute supplies from my dear sister for Christmas, and decided to use some of them for today's card.

My card was a fairly quick one to make once I decided just what I wanted to do.  First I'll show you the main supplies I used.

The two stamp and die sets were part of my Christmas gift.  Now, here's my card:

When I was getting out my supplies I thought I would stamp the 'bug' outline and color it, but there were a few dp scraps sitting next to my new sets and one just caught my eye.  So I lined up the outline stamp where I wanted it on the scrap, and used the die to cut it out.

In the same stack of scraps I found a piece of handmade paper that was perfect for cutting out the clouds.  The handmade paper gave the clouds some nice texture.

I'm not sure you can see the texture in the photos, but it shows up nicely in person.

Next, I cut a scrap of blue for some sky, and I tore a piece of kraft card to use for the ground.  I used two brown-toned inks to color the edges a bit without making the ground too busy-looking.

After stamping the sentiment, I laid the 'sky' down with my ATG, and used foam tape to affix the ground pieces and the car.  I used a double layer of the foam tape to lift the lower ground piece above the car.

My card base, which is sized at 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" to fit a standard A2 envelope, is a dark navy blue, so I added a white insert for the message and signature.

The pictures don't really show it off very well, but this card is very cute in person and will certainly help brighten the day for someone who isn't feeling quite up to par.

Details:
     Stamp/Die Sets:  taylored expressions "Wheely Great" set and hampton art "Welcome Home" set by doodlebug design inc. and Sizzix.
     Inks:  VersaMagic "Ocean Depth" Chalk Ink and Memento "Desert Sand" and "Rich Cocoa."
     Cardstock:  Gina K Designs "In the Navy" and Neenah "Kraft."

Thanks, as always, for your visit.  Please know that I truly appreciate the time you take to spend with me.  'Til next time.....

Big HUGS!!!!!
CHRISTINE

smooth sailing

"How happy is the sailor's life..."   Isaac Bickerstaffe   Over at the Card A Day Blog we are inspiring/challenging you with the theme of "NEW," new home, new job, new school, new anything you can think of.  For my inspiration, I have created a card that might apply to many things 'new' as there are often "rough seas" in any new endeavor.  There may not be too many of us looking forward to a new sailboat, but that is the image I used for my creation.  I liked the idea of clear skies and smooth seas, so that is how I created my sentiment.  Here is your first look at my card:

As you can see, this is my sentiment.  I created it in a document, choosing the font style and color, and printed it on white cardstock.  I cut it with a Spellbinder's die, did a little inking while still in the die, added some matching rhinestones and mounted it with foam tape.  You can see the layering in the next pic.

The sailboat I used is from Stampin' Up.  I stamped directly on the card layer; I wanted my card to be very CAS.  Here is the finished card:

This was a very fast card to create, and, happily, I had the perfect scrap pieces at hand.  So, all I needed to do was locate my stamp and create the sentiment!  Not too many details for you, but here they are:

          Stamp:  Stampin' Up 'Sail Away' single stamp
          Inks:  Tim Holtz by Ranger Distress Ink 'Chipped Saphire' and VersaMagic Chalk Ink 'Sea Breeze'
          Die:  Spellbinder's 'Labels 4"
          Bling:  The Paper Studio birthstone gems

I'm really starting to love this CAS style, but, while I love the color blue, I think it's time to bring in some other colors for my next few posts.  What d'you think?

Sea you again soon!!

Big HUGS!
CHRISTINE

SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!! Blog Hop

Spring Has Sprung!
The designers at Card a Day Blog are joining together to do a Blog Hop! The theme is dimensional cards!


To join in....visit all the participating designers by visiting their sites, some are having prize giveaways...so make sure you pop in!
Make sure you comment on all the blogs too, because at the end of the blog hop, they are going to send a list of all who commented on their blog,
and we are going to do a grand prize drawing of all comments on each blog!
The grand prize is your choice of a pdf pattern book, valued up to $20, from http://popupcards.com/shop-patterns.html !
Make sure to check back at Card a Day Blog March 23rd, to see who won!

So JOIN IN TODAY....comment on the main blog page, and visit the other hop pages and comment there too!


And now for the reveal of my creation for the hop!  One of the first things that comes to my mind when I start seeing the signs of Spring is Easter.  I'm generally thinking of the religious aspect, but for this hop I decided to go for the cute, more casual side of the holiday.  I've been wanting to use some supplies that I picked up several months ago, and this hop, with the requirement of something dimensional, was the perfect opportunity.

My card started with a purple 8 1/2" x 5 1/2" base, which folds to a standard A2 size, and a nice bright white mat.  From there I began my stamping.  As happens so often with me most of my card was made with scraps.  I needed to stamp an Easter egg, and found a nice scrap of design paper with pastel flowers.  I also unearthed the perfect yellow scraps for the chicks that I was stamping.  Then, as luck would have it, I found a nice die cut srip of grass that turned into the ideal foundation for an egg hunt.

I really love the stamps in this set by INKY ANTICS. After determining where the grass would be, I stamped a some of the three different little eggs to look hidden in the grass.  I didn't want too much ink to show on the floral dp so, for the large egg, I used a light green that would blend somewhat.  The chick was stamped with a coordinating color, and then cut out.  I enhanced the beak and feet with marker.  The other tiny eggs were placed to look as though the chick tossed them up in the air to land where the children would find them in the grass. Here's a view from another angle:

You can see that I added a bit of dimension by curving the egg in just a bit and mounting it with foam tape.  I also curved the chick's wings out and mounted her, also with foam tape, to look as though she's sitting on the egg.

From this angle you might be able to see that the edge of the card has a bit of thickness folded into it.  This was done to accommodate the surprise inside. In this case the surprise is a nice bright pink Easter egg made with the Honey POP Collection Honeycomb Paper.  For those of you who may not be familiar with this paper, it's made especially for Inky Antics to be used with the stamp sets they've designed for it.  Here is the inside of my card with your surprise:

 And a couple of closer shots to show the coloring and the inside sentiment:

 In the last pic, especially, you can see the score lines for the fold.  The Honeycomb Paper is quite thick and needs this extra space, although the folded card remains fairly flat for mailing.

I hope you've enjoyed this little stop in your hop.  Since this post is already so long I've eliminated the list of supplies, but you can check below in the labels, and if you have any questions feel free to leave them in a comment.  I will try to get back to you quickly.

Keep that creative genius of yours happy and well-fed!!!

Hugs and Happy Spring Wishes!
CHRISTINE



Okay, here is the list of all the CADB hop participants.  Remember to leave a comment for all the designers so you'll have more prize entries!!  (It's short, and shouldn't take you too long.)     

         

To Brighten Your Day.....

Right now there are so many people around us who are sneezing and sniffling and feeling just plain rotten.  Those seasonal colds and flus are in full force giving us good reason to reduce our stashes (and make room for new goodies) by creating lots of Get Well cards.  That's our theme this week at the Card A Day Blog. 

The card I have for you today was made primarily using Stampin' Up products.  It actually started life as an event project that I didn't have time to make at the event.  I made some changes to the original design to transform it into a nice get-well wish.  Here's the first pic:

This card is one of many variations on the step-fold.  Starting with a piece of  'More Mustard' card stock 8 1/2" X 5 1/2", scores are made 1" from the top and bottom of the card at 1", 2" and 5 1/2" from the edge, and between 1" and 4 1/4" at 4 1/4" from the edge.  The 1", 4 1/4" and 5 1/2" folds are mountain and the 2" is a valley fold.  Here is an angled view of the card:

The main element is cut from Bigz die set 'Beautiful Butterflies.' It's stamped in Memento 'Rich Cocoa' with a Memories Direct border stamp, inked with VersaMagic 'Sea Breeze' and adorned with pearls colored to match with Copic BG32.  The butterfly is foam mounted on a 'Very Vanilla' mat embossed with Textured Impressions 'Square Lattice' folder and backed by 'Chocolate Chip.'  To the sides are pieces of design paper (sorry, don't have the name) inked with the 'Sea Breeze' to give them a bit more depth.

The inside of the card features the same dp on a mat with the stamped sentiment and a sweet stamped butterfly.

Both sentiments are from Hero Arts 'CL342.'  The butterfly stamps are from Inkadinkado.  Here's one last pic of the full front:

If you've been one of the many victims of the seasonal bugs, I hope you're feeling much better very soon!  Thanks for coming by to visit.

Always keep your creative genius happy and well-fed!!

CHRISTINE